«g 


TEMPLE  HILL  ACADEMY, 


LIBRARY 

OF  TIIK 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIF^T    Ol^ 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALS WORTH. 

Received  October,  1804. 
^Accessions  No.ti     Class  No. 


....v 


\ 


THE 


LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES 


THE 


LIFE   OF  PAUL  JONES 


ALEXANDER  SLIDELL  MACKENZIE,  U.  S.  N. 


I 

VOL.  I. 


BOSTON: 

MILLIARD,  GRAY,  AND   COMPANY. 
1841. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by 

HARRISON   GRAY, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


CAMBRIDGE  : 

STEREOTYPED    AND   PRINTED   BY 
POLSOM,  WELLS,    AND   THURSTON. 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  work  was  undertaken 
some  years  ago,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  J. 
Sparks,  the  distinguished  editor  of  the  "Li 
brary  of  American  Biography,"  with  a  view 
to  its  forming  part  of  that  valuable  work. 
Professional  occupations  have  only  within 
the  last  few  months  permitted  the  writer  to 
make  use  of  the  materials  that  were  placed 
in  his  hands.  They  consist  of  a  "  Life  of 
Paul  Jones,"  published  in  1825,  by  Mr. 
J.  H.  Sherburne,  then  Register  of  the  Navy, 
from  the  documents  on  file  in  the  govern 
ment  offices,  and  from  a  portion  of  the  pri 
vate  papers  of  Jones,  to  which  Mr.  Sher 
burne  had  access ;  of  a  more  elaborate 
work  on  the  same  subject,  published  in 


VI  PREFACE. 

Edinburgh  in  1830,  from  the  materials  fur 
nished  by  Mr.  Sherburne,  from  log-books 
of  Jones's  various  cruises,  and  from  original 
papers  in  possession  of  his  heirs ;  and,  last 
ly,  of  a  third  life,  published  in  New  York 
in  1830,  by  Mr.  Robert  Sands,  from  the 
materials  used  in  the  Edinburgh  work,  and 
subsequently  brought  to  this  country  by  a 
niece  of  Paul  Jones. 

As  these  works  are  chiefly  composed  of 
original  letters  of  Jones,  they  convey  a  suf 
ficiently  distinct  idea  of  his  life  and  char 
acter.  But  the  historical  style  in  which 
all  these  works  are  written  necessarily  in 
volves  the  insertion  of  such  a  mass  of  doc 
uments,  as  to  swell  their  bulk  with  matter 
which  is  not  always  of  interest  to  the  gen 
eral  reader,  whilst  his  mind  is  fatigued  by 
unavoidable  repetitions,  interruptions,  and 
irregularities  of  date.  To  avoid  these  diffi 
culties,  the  narrative  style  of  biography  has 
been  adopted  in  the  following  work,  by  the 
advice  of  Mr.  Sparks,  and  it  has  been  the 


PREFACE.  Vii 

object  of  the  writer  to  state  all  the  known 
facts  in  the  life  of  Paul  Jones,  in  a  simple, 
consecutive  manner,  according  to  their  nat 
ural  order  of  succession.  As,  however,  the 
writings  of  an  individual  often  convey  to 
the  mind  a  more  distinct  idea  of  his  thoughts 
and  feelings  than  can  otherwise  be  obtain 
ed,  letters  of  Paul  Jones  have  been  occa 
sionally  introduced  ;  the  temptation  to  in 
troduce  more  was  very  great,  as  he  wrote 
with  clearness,  spirit,  and  vigor. 

Efforts  have  been  made,  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  to  procure  additional  informa 
tion  with  which  to  enrich  the  present  work ; 
but  without  success.  It  is  not  likely  that 
any  important  materials  exist  which  were 
not  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Edin 
burgh  writer  and  Mr.  Sands.  Paul  Jones 
was  particularly  careful  in  placing  on  record 
and  preserving  every  thing  that  could  be 
of  value  to  his  biographer.  He  had  a  de 
cided  conviction  that  his  actions  would  be 
the  subject  of  after  interest.  In  addition 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

to  the  works  already  mentioned,  a  guarded 
use  has  been  made  of  the  narrative  of 
Captain  Fanning,  who  was  a  midshipman 
on  board  the  Poor  Richard ;  and  various 
other  works  have  been  examined,  in  which 
Paul  Jones  is  either  incidentally  mentioned, 
or  facts  are  stated  having  a  connexion  with 
his  history. 

MARCH,  1840. 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME    FIRST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  of  Paul  Jones.  —  His  Parentage.  —  His  reputed  Pater 
nity  j  disproved.  —  Situation  of  his  Birth-place.  —  His  first 
Voyage  to  Virginia.  —  Resides  with  his  Brother.  —  Enters 
the  Slave-Trade.— Abandons  it  from  Humanity.  —  Becomes 
Master  of  a  West-Indiaman.  —  Charged  with  Cruelty.  — 
The  Charge  proved  to  be  unfounded.  —  Charged  with  Smug 
gling.  —  Death  of  his  Brother.  —  Abandons  the  Sea.  —  Set 
tles  in  Virginia.  —  Takes  Possession  of  his  Brother's  Es 
tate.  —  American  Revolution.  —  Offers  his  Services.  —  His 
Motives. —  Is  commissioned  Lieutenant  in  the  Navy.  —  Ap 
pointed  to  the  Alfred 


CHAPTER  II. 

Departure  of  First  American  Squadron. —  Destined  against 
New  Providence.  —  Capture  of  the  Island.  —  Squadron  re 
turns. —  Engagement  with  the  Glasgow.  —  Jones  appointed 
to  Command  the  Providence.  —  Engaged  in  Convoying.  — 

Bruise  to  Nova  Scotia.  —  Narrow^  Escapes.  —  Destruction 
of  Fisheries.  —  Commands  a  Squadron.  —  Expedition  against 

_£ape  Breton.  —  Is  superseded  in  his  Rank.  —  Deprived  of 
Command.  —  His  Ideas  on  Naval  Organization.  —  Is  ordered 
to  proceed  to  Europe,  to  take  Command  of  a  heavy  Ship.  — 
Letter  from  the  Marine  Committee.  —  Appointed  to  the 
Ranger.  —  Sails  for  France.  —  Arrives  at  Nantes.  ...  25 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Jones  visits  Paris.  —  Transfer  of  the  Indien  to  France.  —  Sub 
mits  a  Plan  for  employing  the  French  Fleet. —Returns 
to  Nantes.  —  Sails  for  Brest.  —  Receives  the  first  Salute 
abroad  to  the  American  Flag.  —  Projects  a  Cruise. —  Sails 
from  Brest.  —  Enters  the  Irish  Channel.  —  Makes  various 
Prizes.  —  Appears  off  Carrickfergus.  —  Bold  Attempt  to 
board  the  Drake,  at  Anchor.  —  Descent  on  Whitehaven.  — 
Capture  of  the  Forts.  —  Consternation  of  the  Inhabitants. 

—  Return   to   the   Ranger.  —  Propriety  of  the  Enterprise, 
generally,  as  undertaken  by  Jones.  —  Descent  on  St.  Mary's 
Isle.  —  Removal  of  Lord  Selkirk's  Plate.  —  Alarm  at  Kirk 
cudbright.  —  Second  Appearance  off  Carrickfergus.  —  En 
gagement  with  the  Drake.  —  Arrest  of  Lieutenant  Simpson. 

—  Arrival  at  Brest.  —  Letter  to  Lady  Selkirk.  —  Restora 
tion  of  the  Plate 51 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Effect  of  Jones's  Exploits.  —  His  Letter  of  Credit  dishonor 
ed.  —  Difficulties  for  Want  of  Money.  —  Contention  with 
Simpson.  —  Simpson  imprisoned.  —  Cause  of  Disagreement. 

—  Care  of  Prisoners.  —  Franklin's  Views  for  the   Employ 
ment  of  the  Ranger.  —  Jones's  Views  in  Reply.  —  Asks  for 
the  Indien.  — Offer  of  the  Indien  by  the  French  Govern 
ment. —  Jones    proceeds  to  Paris.  —  Offers  his  Services  to 
France.  —  Project  for  intercepting  the  Baltic   Fleet.  —  It 
fails.  —  Gives  up  the  Command  of  the  Ranger  to  Simpson. 

—  Repents  having  done  so.  —  The  Ranger  sails  for  America.     87 


CHAPTER  V. 

Season  of  Inactivity.  —  Jones's  Impatience.  —  His  Efforts  to 
Obtain  a  Command.  —  Writes  to  Prince  of  Nassau-Siegen. 
His  Letter  is  not  answered.  —  Writes  to  the  French  Min 
ister  of  Marine.  —  Recapitulation  of  Claims  and  Grievan 
ces. —  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Rochefoucault.  —  Denuncia 
tion  of  the  Minister  of  Marine.  —  Letter  to  M.  Chaumont, 


CONTENTS.  xi 

—  Letter  to  the  King.  —  Statement  of  Wrongs.  —  Appeal 
to  the  Magnanimity  of  the  Sovereign. —  Determination  of 
Government  to  buy  a  Ship  for  Jones.  —  Efforts  of  M.  Chau- 
mont.  —  Character  of  this  Gentleman.  —  Jones  enters  into 
a  Contention  with  Mr.  Arthur  Lee.  —  Prolonged  Delay.  — 
Advice  of  Poor  Richard. — Jones  adopts  it.  —  Visits  Ver 
sailles.  —  Receives  Command  of  a  Ship  under  the  Ameri 
can  Flag. —  Calls  her  the  Poor  Richard 112 


CHAPTER  VI. 

^Object  of  the  French  Government  in  giving  Jones  a  Com 
mand.  —  Arrival  of  the  Alliance  frigate  in  France.  —  She  is 
added  to  the  Expedition.  —  Lafayette  proposes  joining  it. — 
Force  and  Character  of  the  Squadron.  —  Advice  of  Franklin 
to  Jones  with  Regard  to  Cooperation.  —  Instructions  for 
the  Cruise.  —  Treatment  of  Prisoners.  —  Jones's  Gratifica 
tion  with  his  Instructions.  —  Object  of  the  Expedition 
changed.  —  Lafayette  withdraws,  to  join  in  the  Invasion  of 
England. — The  Squadron  is  employed  in  Convoys.  —  The 
Richard  and  the  Alliance  get  foul.  —  The  Richard  is  dam 
aged. —  The  Squadron  returns  to  refit.  —  Orders  for  a  new 
Cruise.  —  Mutinous  Spirit  of  the  Richard's  Crew.  —  Agree 
ment  entered  into  by  all  the  Commanders. —  Cause  of  fu 
ture  Contention.  —  Mixed  Character  of  the  Expedition.  .  133 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Departure  of  the  Squadron  from  L'Orient.  —  Incipient  Insub 
ordination.  —  A  Privateer  parts  Company. —  Makes  the 
Coast  of  Ireland.  —  Desertion  of  the  Richard's  Barge. — 
Loss  of  another  Boat.  —  Insolence  of  Landais  of  the  Alli 
ance.  —  Desertion  of  two  Vessels.  —  The  Squadron  en 
counters  a  severe  Gale. —  Separation  of  Ships. — The  Rich 
ard  passes  between  Scotland  and  the  Western  Isles.  —  Falls 
in  with  the  Alliance  off  Cape  Wrath.  —  Capture  of  two  val 
uable  Prizes.  —  They  are  sent  to  Norway.  —  Renewed  In 
solence  of  Landais.  —  The  Alliance  parts  Company.  —  The 
Squadron  off  the  Firth  of  Forth.  —  Project  of  a  Descent 
upon  Leith.  —  His  Captains  oppose  the  Enterprise. — They 


ii  CONTENTS. 

yield  their  Consent.  —  The  Squadron  enters  the  Firth.  —  Is 
taken  for  an  English  Force.  —  Request  sent  to  Jones  for 
Ammunition.  —  Summons  prepared  for  Leith.  —  Approach 
to  Kirkaldy.  —  Prayer  of  Mr.  Shirra. — Gale  out  of  the 
Firth.  —  The  Squadron  driven  off.  —  Project  against  Hull 
and  New  Castle.  — Evils  of  the  Concordat 156 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Squadron  off  Flamborough  Head. — Discovers  the  Baltic 
Fleet.  —  Gives  Chase.  —  The  opposing  Ships  approach. — 
State  of  the  Weather.  —  Spectators  on  Shore.  —  Eccentric 
Movements  of  the  Alliance.  —  The  Action  begins  between 
the  Richard  and  the  Serapis.  —  Two  Guns  of  the  Richard 
burst.  —  The  Serapis  passes  round  the  Richard.  —  Attempts 
to  cross  her  Bow.  —  The  two  Ships  get  foul.  —  Jones  at 
tempts  to  board.  —  Is  repulsed.  —  The  Ships  separate. — 
The  Richard  lays  the  Serapis  athwart  Hawse.  —  The  Ships 
swing  Broadside  and  Broadside.  —  The  Serapis  anchors. — 
Terrible  Cannonade  from  the  Serapis.  —  The  Alliance  rakes 
the  Richard.  —  Jones  superintends  4he  Quarter-deck  Bat 
tery. —  Effective  Fire  from  the  Richard's  Tops.  —  Combus 
tibles  thrown  on  board  the  Serapis.  —  Explosion  on  her 
Main  Deck.  —  Alarm  lest  the  Richard  should  sink. —  Gun 
ner  cries  for  Quarter.  —  Prisoners  released.  —  Desperate 
Situation  of  Jones.  —  He  does  not  despair.  —  The  Serapis 
strikes.  —  Her  Captain  delivers  up  his  Sword.  —  Mangled 
Condition  of  the  Richard.  —  Both  Ships  on  Fire.  —  Removal 
of  the  Wounded.  —  The  Richard  sinks.  —  Comparative 
Force  of  the  Ships.  —  Victory  due  personally  to  Jones. — 
Conduct  of  Landais. — Jones's  Heroism 174 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Damages  of  the  Serapis  repaired.  —  The  Squadron  steers 
for  Dunkirk.  —  Jones's  Colleagues  run  for  the  Texel. — 
The  Serapis  follows.  —  Arrival  in  the  Texel.  —  The  English 
Squadron  appears  off  the  Port. — The  Squadron  refits. — 
Jones  visits  Amsterdam.  —  His  enthusiastic  Reception. — 
Shows  Himself  on  the  Exchange.  —  His  Appearance. — 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

Sympathy  of  the  Dutch  for  America.  —  The  Britisli  Minis 
ter  demands  a  Surrenderor  Jones  and  his  Frizes.  —  Not 
complied  with. —  The  Squadron  allowed  to  refit.  —  Jones 
takes  Possession  of  a  Fort  on  the  Texel,  as  a  Hospital  for 
the  Wounded.  —  Agreement  for  an  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 

—  Franklin's  Opinion  of  the  Victory.  —  Arrest  of  Landais. 

—  Charges    against    him.  —  Fights   Captain   Cottineau.  — 
Challenges  Jones.  —  Escapes  to  Paris.  —  Jones's  Perplexi 
ties. —  The  Squadron  ordered  to  depart.  —  The  Prizes  and 
French  Ships  hoist  French  Colors.  —  Jones  removes  to  the 
Alliance.  —  Renewed  Orders  to  depart.  —  Prisoners  ree"m- 
barked.  —  Part  of  them  delivered  to  France.  .  210 


CHAPTER   X. 

Dissatisfaction  of  Paul  Jones.  —  Contemplates  returning  to 
America.  —  Is  offered  a  French  Privateer's  Commission. — 
Rejects  it  with  Disdain.  —  Is  ready  for  Sea.  —  Refuses  to 
hoist  French  Colors.  —  Receives  a  soothing  Letter  from 
the  French  Ambassador.  —  His  Anger  appeased.  —  The  Al 
liance  sails.  —  Finds  the  Coast  clear  of  Blockaders.  — 
Passes  the  Downs  and  Straits  of  Dover.  —  New- Year's  Day. 
—  Verses  to  a  Lady.  —  The  Alliance  sails  badly. —  Singular 
Arrangement  of  Ballast. —  Goes  into  Corunna. — Mutinous 
Disposition  of  the  Crew.  —  Makes  a  short  Cruise.  —  Enters 
L'Orient.  —  Jones's  Health  impaired 241 


LIFE 


OF 


PAUL    JONES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  of  Paul  Jones.  —  His  Parentage.  —  His  reputed  Paternity; 
disproved.  —  Situation  of  his  Birth-place.  —  His  first  Voyage 
to  Virginia. —Resides  with  his  Brother.  —  Enters  the  Slave- 
Trade. — Abandons  it  from  Humanity. —  Becomes  Master  of  a 
West-Indiaman. — Charged  with  Cruelty. — The  Charge  proved 
to  be  unfounded.  — Charged  with  Smuggling.  —  Death  of  his 
Brother.  —  Abandons  the  Sea.  —  Settles  in  Virginia.  —  Takes 
Possession  of  his  Brother's  Estate.  —  American  Revolution. — 
Offers  his  Services.  —  His  Motives.  —  Is  commissioned  Lieu 
tenant  in  the  Navy.  —  Appointed  to  the  Alfred. 

IN  every  pursuit  of  life,  successful  example 
seems  to  encourage  the  enterprising  and  stim 
ulate  the  doubting.  This  is  eminently  the 
case  in  the  career  of  arms.  England  will  owe 
many  a  future  naval  hero  to  the  memory  of 
her  Nelson.  History  also  furnishes  the  exam 
ple  of  heroes,  who,  with  less  extensive  means 
and  in  a  smaller  sphere  of  action,  have  reflect 
ed  honor  on  our  own  land.  Among  the  fore- 

VOL.    I.  1 


2  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1747. 

most  of  these  is  Paul  Jones,  the  events  of 
whose  life  it  is  the  object  of  the  following 
pages  to  portray. 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES  was  born  on  the  6th  of 
July,  1747,  on  the  estate  of  Arbigland,  in  the 
parish  of  Kirkbean,  in  Scotland.  His  father's 
family  was  originally  from  Fifeshire  j  but  his 
grandfather  removed  to  Leith,  where  he  fol 
lowed  the  business  of  a  gardener.  John  Paul, 
the  father  of  our  hero,  by  whom  the  name  of 
Jones  was  subsequently  assumed,  followed  the 
same  calling  ;  on  finishing  his  apprenticeship, 
he  entered  into  the  employment  of  Mr.  Craik, 
of  Arbigland,  for  whom  he  laid  out  the  garden 
much  as  it  now  exists,  and  planted  the  trees 
which  still  surround  the  mansion. 

Soon  after  John  Paul  removed  to  Arbigland, 
he  married  Jean  MacdufF,  daughter  of  a  small 
farmer  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  New  Ab 
bey,  whose  family  had  been  established  in  that 
district  from  time  immemorial.  There  were 
seven  children  from  this  marriage,  the  two 
youngest  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Of  those 
who  survived,  and  came  to  years  of  maturity, 
the  eldest  was  a  boy  named  William,  the  next 


LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  3 

three  were  girls,  called  Elizabeth,  Janet,  and 
Mary  Ann,  and  the  youngest,  John,  the  sub 
ject  of  the  following  biography.  The  long 
period  of  John  Paul's  service  with  Mr.  Craik, 
and  the  interest  which  this  gentleman  is 
known  to  have  always  taken  in  the  family 
of  his  dependent,  after  the  death  of  the 
latter,  are  cited  as  conclusive  evidence  of  his 
fidelity  and  worth. 

In  after  times,  when  the  name  of  Jones  be 
came  the  subject  of  romantic  interest,  an 
effort  was  made  to  assign  to  him  what  was 
thought  a  nobler  origin,  as  the  natural  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  or  of  Mr.  Craik.  As  if 
the  brand  of  illegitimacy,  and  the  stigma  on  a 
mother's  fame,  would  be  more  than  compen 
sated  by  an  association  with  noble  names,  or  a 
sinister  descent  from  a  Scottish  earl  or  from  a 
bonnet  laird  best  known  to  fame  by  the  fact  of 
our  hero  being  the  son  of  his  gardener,  would 
be  a  more  fitting  introduction  to  a  career  of 
glory,  than  birth  in  honorable  wedlock,  of 
humble  but  honest  parents.  These  calumnies, 
though  intended  for  commendations,  were 
falsified  by  the  unsullied  character  of  the  wife 


LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1747. 

of  John  Paul,  and  by  the  happiness  of  their 
union. 

The  birth-place  of  our  hero,  and  the  home 
of  his  boyish  days,  are  surrounded  by  scenes 
well  suited  to  cherish  an  adventurous  temper 
ament,  and  create  an  inclination  for  the  sea. 
Arbigland,  the  estate  of  Mr.  Craik,  occupies  a 
jutting  promontory  of  the  Galloway  shore, 
where  the  river  Nith  opens  into  the  estuary  of 
the  Sol  way.  The  bank  rises  gradually  from 
the  water,  until  it  blends  with  the  steep  side 
of  Criffel,  a  towering  mountain  of  granite. 
While  the  Nith  opens  away  to  the  north,  and 
is  bounded  on  the  opposite  side  by  the  Dum 
fries  shore,  the  upward  course  of  the  Solway 
may  be  traced  eastward,  to  where  it  receives 
the  waters  of  the  Esk.  Beyond  and  far  sea 
ward,  stretches  the  Cumberland  shore,  while 
in  the  remote  distance  rise  the  majestic  tops 
of  Helvellyn,  Skiddaw,  and  the  Saddleback. 
The  mansion  of  Arbigland  stands  about  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore  ;  and  a  little  far 
ther  west,  on  the  same  gently  sloping  promon 
tory,  is  the  cottage  in  which  young  Paul  was 
born.  Both  buildings  are  surrounded  by 


LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  5 

dense  masses  of  thrifty  and  umbrageous  trees, 
many  of  them  planted  by  Paul's  father,  open 
ings  through  which  render  the  houses  visible 
from  the  Solway,  and  conspicuous  objects  to 
the  passing  mariner.* 

Amid  such  scenes  as  these  our  hero  first 
gazed  abroad  upon  the  world.  As  years  gave 
him  strength  to  wander,  the  enchanting  views, 
which  on  all  sides  presented  themselves, 
increased  the  temptation  to  ramble  forth. 
Sometimes  in  company  with  the  son  of  the 

*  In  the  summer  of  183 J,  Arbigland  was  visited  by 
Lieutenant  Alexander  B.  Pinkham,  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  He  found  the  cottage,  in  which  Paul  Jones  was 
born,  a  perfect  ruin,  with  only  the  stone  walls,  gables, 
and  one  chimney  standing.  Feeling  a  lively  sense  of 
gratitude  for  the  services  of  Paul  Jones  to  his  country, 
he  was  painfully  affected  by  this  sight,  and  conceived  a 
strong  desire  to  contribute  to  the  preservation  of  so  in 
teresting  a  memorial.  Through  a  friend  in  Dumfries,  he 
sought  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Craik,  and  Avas  kindly 
received  by  him.  and  readily  obtained  permission  to  do 
what  he  pleased  with  the  cottage.  An  architect  was  em 
ployed  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  probable  expense,  and 
Mr.  Pinkham,  with  a  liberality  alike  creditable  to  his 
patriotism  and  to  his  professional  feelings,  generously  set 
apart  from  his  savings  the  sum  of  twenty-five  sovereigns, 
which  considerably  exceeded  the  estimate.  Mr.  Craik 
also  entered  with  spirit  into  the  project,  and  caused  the 
repairs  to  be  prosecuted  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  The 


6  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1747. 

proprietor,  who  was  very  recently  still  living, 
he  explored  the  magnificent  rocks  and  cav 
erns,  which  impart  such  an  air  of  grandeur  to 
the  seaward  coast,  and  which,  in  more  recent 
times,  have  furnished  romance  with  scenes  for 
its  fictitious  horrors  ;  occasionally,  they  clomb 
the  side  of  Criffel,  to  gaze  abroad  upon  the 
majestic  spectacle  which  it  commands ;  or 
oftener  strolled  towards  the  protected  bay  of 
Carsethorn,  at  the  foot  of  the  lawn,  where 
vessels  not  unfrequently  took  shelter  from 

present  condition  of  the  house  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  extract  from  the  "  Dumfries  Courier,"  of  the 
30th  of  July,  1834,  which  contains  an  eloquent  tribute  to 
the  generous  enthusiasm  of  Mr.  Pinkham.  "The  site  of 
the  cottage  is  a  glade  in  a  thriving  wood,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Solway,  with  a  green  in  front,  fancifully  railed  in, 
and  tastefully  ornamented  with  evergreens,  flowers,  and 
flowering  shrubs.  Inside  and  out,  it  is  a  trim  cottage, 
which  may  vie  with  similar  buildings  in  England  ;  and,  as 
the  walls  are  whitened  annually  with  the  finest  lime,  it 
is  become  a  sort  of  land-mark  to  nearly  every  sail  that 
enters  the  Solway.  The  widow  of  a  fisherman,  who 
died  under  highly  distressing  circumstances,  and  who 
owes  much  to  the  humanity  of  Mr.  Craik,  tenants  it  rent- 
free,  and  will  probably  close  her  eyes  under  its  honored 
roof;  and,  as  this  fact  is  generally  known,  almost  every 
tar,  in  passing  the  spot,  doifs  his  bonnet  in  token  of 
gratitude,  and  says,  'God  bless  the  kind  Lieutenant 
Pinkham!'" 


LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES.  7 

storms.  As  the  boldness  of  the  coast  permit 
ted  vessels  to  approach  it  within  a  stone's 
throw,  to  avoid  the  tide,  their  masts,  as  they 
glided  closely  along,  seemed  blended  with  the 
trees  through  which  they  were  seen  ;  while 
the  hoarse  voices  of  the  mariners,  as  the  com 
mands  were  given  and  responded  to,  resound 
ed  loudly  through  the  avenues. 

Thus  early  did  our  hero  become  familiar 
with  the  sights  and  language  of  the  sea. 
Tradition  relates,  that  the  words  of  command, 
of  which  he  early  caught  the  sound,  and  per 
haps  imbibed  something  of  the  sense,  he  was 
wont  to  repeat  among  his  playmates,  mustered 
on  the  shores  of  some  little  inlet,  each  with 
his  mimic  bark,  while  he  himself,  perched  on 
a  rocky  eminence,  screeched  forth  the  various 
orders,  in  imitation  of  the  mariners.  At  other 
times,  he  passed  his  leisure  alone,  in  similar 
amusements.  Of  those,  however,  who  in  their 
boyish  days  sail  boats  in  brooks  and  horse- 
ponds,  and  sometimes  by  the  sea-shore,  there 
are  many  who  get  no  farther  in  the  sailor's 
career,  for  the  taste  is  a  very  prevailing  one  ; 
but,  in  the  case  of  our  hero,  the  inclination 


8  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1759. 

must  have  been  very  decided  ;  for  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years  we  find  him,  with  the  consent 
of  his  parents,  crossing  the  Frith  to  Whiteha- 
ven,  which  lay  opposite  to  his  father's  resi 
dence,  and  is  the  principal  port  of  the  Sol  way, 
in  order  to  be  bound  apprentice  to  Mr.  Youn 
ger,  a  merchant  in  the  American  trade. 

Paul  soon  after  went  to  sea,  in  the  Friend 
ship,  of  Whitehaven,  Captain  Benson,  bound 
to  the  Rappahannock.  While  in  port,  he 
passed  his  time  on  shore,  with  his  brother 
William,  who  had  been  some  time  settled  and 
married  at  Fredericksburg,  in  Virginia,  where 
he  bore  an  honorable  reputation,  and  is  said  to 
have  eventually  acquired  a  handsome  fortune. 
While  under  his  brother's  roof,  he  improved 
the  leisure  afforded  him,  to  continue  his  stud 
ies.  He  particularly  devoted  himself  to  navi 
gation.  The  habit  of  studious  application 
thus  early  formed,  and  unremittingly  prosecu 
ted  both  at  sea  and  on  shore,  enabled  him  so 
far  to  overcome  the  disadvantage  of  an  inter 
rupted  education,  as  always  to  enable  him  to 
appear  equal  to  every  situation  in  which  he 
was  placed,  and  subsequently  to  figure,  with- 


^Ex.  12.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES  9 

out  risk  of  an  unfavorable  comparison,  in  the 
highest  circles  of  society.  In  this  respect, 
his  example  may  be  usefully  imitated  by 
every  youth  who  makes  the  sea  his  profession, 
whether  in  the  navy  or  the  merchant  service  ; 
as  it  shows,  that,  however  early  one  may  be 
called  from  study  to  the  active  pursuits  of 
life,  leisure  and  opportunity  for  the  improve 
ment  of  the  mind  can  never  be  wanting  to 
those  who  are  sedulous  to  profit  by  them. 

The  uniform  good  conduct  of  young  Paul, 
and  his  extraordinary  aptitude  in  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  all  that  is  necessary  to  form  an 
accomplished  seaman,  speedily  recommended 
him  to  the  favor  and  good  will  of  Mr.  Youn 
ger  ;  but,  the  affairs  of  this  gentleman  becom 
ing  soon  after  embarrassed,  he  had  no  other 
means  of  serving  his  apprentice,  than  by  sur 
rendering  his  indentures,  and  abandoning  him, 
at  a  very  early  age,  to  hij  own  guidance.  It 
is  a  sufficient  evidence  of  the  favorable  esti 
mation  which  he  had  already  won  for  himself, 
that  he  was  almost  immediately  employed  as 
third  mate  of  the  King  George  slaver,  of 
Whitehaven. 


10  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1166. 

In  1766,  being  only  nineteen  years  old,  he 
was  received  on  board  the  brigantine  Two 
Friends,  a  slaver  of  Jamaica,  in  the  important 
office  of  chief  mate.  This  is  conclusive  evi 
dence  that  he  was  already  an  accomplished 
seaman,  and  admitted  to  possess  a  firm  and 
decided  character.  It  is  stated  by  the  rela 
tions  of  John  Paul,  from  whom  the  only 
account  of  this  period  of  his  life  is  to  be 
derived,  that,  in  abandoning  this  iniquitous 
traffic  in  human  beings,  he  was  impelled  by 
an  irresistible  feeling  of  disgust  at  the  cruel 
ties  and  horrors  with  which  it  was  necessarily 
attended.  As  the  slave-trade  was  exceedingly 
profitable,  having  mainly  contributed  to  build 
up  the  early  fortunes  of  Bristol,  Liverpool,  and 
other  considerable  ports  in  England,  where  it 
is  now  held  in  becoming  detestation,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  the  motives  of  young 
Paul,  in  relinquishing  it,  were  those  which  his 
relatives  ascribe  to  him,  and  for  which  he  de 
serves  the  greater  honor,  from  their  being  not 
only  in  opposition  to  his  own  interests,  but  so 
much  in  advance  of  the  age  and  country  in 
which  he  lived. 


^ET.  21.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  H 

Giving  up  his  situation  on  board  the  Two 
Friends,  John  Paul  sailed  from  Jamaica  for 
Scotland,  in  1768,  as  a  passenger  in  the 
brigantine  John,  of  Kirkcudbright.  Both  the 
master  and  mate  dying  of  fever  on  the  voy 
age,  Paul  assumed  the  command,  and  arrived 
safely  at  Kirkcudbright.  The  owners  of  the 
vessel,  feeling  grateful  to  him  for  the  preser 
vation  of  their  property,  placed  him  on  board 
of  the  John,  as  master  and  supercargo,  and 
despatched  him  to  the  West  Indies.  He  made 
a  second  voyage  in  the  same  vessel  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  in  the  course  of  it  became 
involved  in  a  difficulty,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  inflicted  punishment  on  the  carpenter 
of  the  John,  Mungo  Maxwell  by  name,  by 
flogging  him,  in  the  customary  manner,  on  the 
back.  Maxwell  had  been  guilty  of  mutinous 
and  disrespectful  conduct  towards  his  com 
mander,  who  made  use  of  the  power  intrust 
ed  to  him  by  the  law  for  the  necessary  preser 
vation  of  discipline,  to  inflict  a  corresponding 
punishment.  Maxwell  was  subsequently  dis 
charged  from  the  John,  and  entered  on  board 
the  Barcelona  Packet,  where  he  took  a  fever 


12  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1771. 

and  died.  Out  of  these  circumstances  a  report 
originated,  that  Maxwell  owed  his  death  to 
the  punishment  inflicted  by  his  commander. 

This  report,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  circulated  by  some  rivals,  who,  in  the 
little  community  of  Kirkcudbright,  envied  the 
eminence  as  a  shipmaster,  to  which  Paul's  in 
telligence  and  skill  had  raised  him  at  such  an 
early  age,  was  fully  set  at  rest  at  the  time  by 
affidavits  from  persons  in  authority  at  Tobago, 
where  the  affair  took  place,  and  from  the  mas 
ter  of  the  vessel  on  board  of  which  Maxwell 
died.  Nor  would  it,  indeed,  have  been  thought 
worthy  of  refutation  here,  had  it  not  been  long 
after  renewed  on  another  scene  of  action, 
when  Paul's  own  nephew  was  substituted  for 
Maxwell,  the  carpenter,  and  the  motive  to  de 
traction,  instead  of  being  rivalry  for  the  com 
mand  of  a  brigantine,  and  the  desire  to 
supplant  him  in  the  favor  of  its  owner,  had  its 
origin  in  the  wish  to  remov.e  him  from  the 
command  of  a  warlike  fleet,  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  favor  of  Catharine  of  Russia. 

Paul's  last  visit  to  Scotland  took  place  in 
1771,  where  he  seems  to  have  been  looked 


LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  13 

upon  with  some  distrust,  on  account  of  his 
alleged  cruelty  to  Maxwell.  This  affair  is 
adverted  to  in  one  of  the  earliest  of  his  letters 
extant,  written  two  years  afterward,  during 
which  interval  he  must  have  made  other  voy 
ages.  This  letter  is  interesting  as  furnishing 
a  transcript  of  his  feelings  and  character  at 
this  early  period.  It  is  dated  at  London,  on 
the  24th  of  September,  1772. 
"  My  dear  Mother  and  Sisters, 

"  I  only  arrived  here  last  night,  from  the 
Grenadas.  I  have  had  but  poor  health  during 
the  voyage  ;  and  my  success  in  it,  not  having 
equalled  my  first  sanguine  expectations,  has 
added  very  much  to  the  asperity  of  my  mis 
fortunes,  and,  I  am  well  assured,  was  the 
cause  of  my  loss  of  health.  I  am  now,  how 
ever,  better  ;  and  I  trust  Providence  will  soon 
put  me  in  a  way  to  get  bread,  and,  which  is 
by  far  my  greatest  happiness,  be  serviceable 
to  my  poor,  but  much  valued  friends.  I  am 
able  to  give  no  account  of  my  future  proceed 
ings,  as  they  depend  upon  circumstances  which 
are  not  fully  determined. 

"  I  have  enclosed  you  a  copy  of  an  affidavit 


14  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1772. 

made  before  Governor  Young,  by  the  judge  of 
the  court  of  Vice-admiralty  of  Tobago,  by 
which  you  will  see  with  how  little  reason  my 
life  has  been  thirsted  after,  and,  which  is 
much  dearer  to  me,  my  honor,  by  malicious 
ly  loading  me  with  obloquy  and  vile  asper 
sions.  I  believe  there  are  few  who  are  hard 
hearted  enough  to  think  I  have  not  long  since 
given  the  world  every  satisfaction  in  my  pow 
er,  being  conscious  of  my  innocence  before 
Heaven,  which  will  one  day  judge  even  my 
judges.  I  staked  my  honor,  life,  and  fortune 
for  six  long  months  on  the  verdict  of  a  British 
jury,  notwithstanding  I  was  sensible  of  the 
general  prejudices  which  ran  against  me  ;  but, 
after  all,  none  of  my  accusers  had  the  courage 
to  confront  me.  Yet  I  am  willing  to  convince 
the  world,  if  reasons  and  facts  will  do  it, 
that  they  have  had  no  foundation  for  their 
harsh  treatment.  I  mean  to  send  Mr.  Craik  a 
copy  properly  proved,  as  his  nice  feelings  will 
not,  perhaps,  be  otherwise  satisfied ;  in  the 
mean  time,  if  you  please,  you  may  show  him 
that  enclosed.  His  ungracious  conduct  to  me, 
before  I  left  Scotland,  I  have  not  yet  been 


JE-r.  '2').]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  15 

able  to  get  the  better  of.  Every  person  of 
feeling  must  think  meanly  of  adding  to  the 
load  of  the  afflicted.  It  is  true  I  bore  it  with 
seeming  unconcern,  but  Heaven  can  witness 
for  me  that  I  suffered  the  more  on  that  ac 
count.  But  enough  of  this." 

The  above  letter  shows  a  commendable  in 
terest  in  preserving  the  favorable  opinion  of 
those  who  had  hitherto  esteemed  him,  a  jeal 
ousy  of  any  imputation  which  was  likely  to 
sully  it,  and  a  spirit  easily  wounded  by  the 
suspicion  of  those  from  whom  he  expected  a 
confidence  in  his  character,  founded  on  a  long- 
continued  observation  of  its  worth.  We  may 
discover,  also,  in  his  solicitude  about  his  rela 
tions,  and  his  desire  to  be  serviceable  to  his 
"  poor  but  much  valued  friends,"  the  traces  of 
a  gentle  and  affectionate  spirit.  This  spirit, 
which  never  forsook  him,  stamps  his  heroism 
with  the  seal  of  genuineness.  As  he  does  not 
mention  his  father,  he  was  no  doubt  dead  ; 
and  his  mother  and  sisters  were  probably  de 
pendent  on  their  own  exertions,  and  his  occa 
sional  aid. 

There  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  now  the 


16  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1773. 

exact  nature  and  motive  of  the  ungracious 
treatment  which  he  complains  of  having  re 
ceived  from  Mr.  Craik.  It  was  evidently  oc 
casioned  by  the  calumnies  of  which  he  was 
the  subject,  on  account  of  his  punishment  of 
Maxwell  j  and  the  acuteness  with  which  he 
felt  it  was  doubtless  augmented  by  his  having 
always  looked  up  to  Mr.  Craik  for  protection, 
as  having  been  born  on  his  estate,  and  passed 
his  early  years  under  his  immediate  observa 
tion.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  Mr.  Craik 
was  subsequently  convinced  that  Paul  had 
been  calumniated. 

On  the  completion  of  the  second  voyage  of 
the  John,  her  owners  dissolved  partnership, 
and  sold  her,  giving  to  young  Paul  an  honora 
ble  discharge  from  their  service,  as  a  skilful 
navigator  and  supercargo.  Subsequently  to 
this  period,  Paul  is  said  to  have  been  engaged 
in  the  smuggling  trade,  extensively  carried  on 
at  that  time,  between  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the 
shores  of  the  Sol  way.  The  first  entry  of 
goods  from  England  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  after 
it  was  annexed  to  the  crown,  and  the  motive 
for  smuggling  taken  away,  stands  in  his  name 


JET.  2G.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  17 

in  the  custom-house  books  of  Douglas.  This 
shows  that  he  did  trade  to  the  island  at  one 
time,  and  may  have  given  occasion  to  the  re 
port  that  he  was  engaged  in  smuggling  to  it, 
when  his  name  became  afterwards  the  subject 
of  vilification.  He,  however,  always  denied 
the  charge,  and  pronounced  it  calumnious  and 
untrue. 

Soon  after,  we  find  Paul  in  command  of  the 
Betsey,  of  London,  in  the  West  India  trade. 
He  continued  in  this  trade  for  some  time,  and 
seems,  from  his  subsequent  letters,  to  have 
been  engaged  at  Tobago  and  Grenada,  in 
some  commercial  speculations  on  his  own  ac 
count.  In  1773,  he  went  to  Virginia,  to  ar 
range  the  affairs  of  his  brother  William,  who 
had  died  intestate  and  without  children.  As 
this  brother  of  Paul's  is  reported  by  all  the 
biographers  to  have  left  a  considerable  for 
tune,  and  as  Paul  took  charge  of  the  estate  on 
behalf  of  his  family,  it  is  difficult  to  account 
for  the  penury  of  which  he  soon  after  com 
plains.  About  this  time  he  conceived  the 
project  of  abandoning  the  profession  of  the 
sea,  and  devoting  himself  to  agriculture,  by 

VOL,   I.  2 


18  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  {1113. 

taking  advantage  of  the  opening  which  his 
brother's  estate  offered.  It  is  probable  that  he 
commenced  carrying  his  project  into  execu 
tion,  for  two  years  of  his  life  at  this  period  are 
unaccounted  for  by  his  biographers.  It  is  to 
this  period  that  he  subsequentlytreferred,  in 
writing  to  the  Countess  of  Selkirk,  when  he 
said  ;  "  Before  this  war  began,  I  had  at  the 
early  time  of  life  withdrawn  from  the  sea  ser 
vice,  in  favor  of  l  calm  contemplation  and 
poetic  ease.'  I  have  sacrificed  not  only  my 
favorite  scheme  of  life,  but  the  softer  affections 
of  the  heart  and  my  prospects  of  domestic 
happiness,  and  am  ready  to  sacrifice  my  life 
also  with  cheerfulness,  if  that  forfeiture  could 
restore  peace  and  good  will  among  mankind." 
There  are  no  means  now  of  ascertaining 
whether  more  was  meant  by  this  passage,  than 
to  please  the  ear  of  the  lady  to  whom  he  was 
writing,  by  this  array  of  soft  words,  and  to 
present  himself  before  her  imagination  as  a 
species  of  knight-errant  in  the  cause  of  liberty, 
abandoning  the  retirement  that  was  dear  to 
him,  in  order  to  do  battle  against  tyrants  and 
oppressors.  The  susceptibility  to  female  at 
tractions,  which  he  afterwards  showed,  renders 


JET.  26.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  19 

it  likely  that  his  feelings  may  have  become 
interested  in  the  course  of  a  residence  of  two 
years  on  shore  ;  but,  beyond  the  passage  which 
we  have  quoted,  there  is  no  clue  to  any  entan 
glement  in  which  our  hero's  heart  may  have 
been  engaged  during  his  residence  in  Virginia. 
His  planting  operations  do  not  seem  to  have 
prospered,  and  his  brother's  fortune,  if  it  ever 
existed,  seems  to  have  evaporated,  or  to  have 
passed  into  other  hands. 

About  this  time  the  American  Revolution 
broke  out.  It  found  Paul  buried  in  the  re 
tirement  of  the  country,  and  overwhelmed  by 
penury.  His  feelings  had  doubtless  been  long 
before  enlisted  in  favor  of  the  country  of 
which,  during  two  years,  he  had  considered 
himself  a  permanent  inhabitant,  and  with 
which  he  must  have  identified  himself  from 
the  moment  that  he  settled  in  it,  in  the  belief 
that  it  was  for  life.  It  was  easy  for  him  to 
feel  a  real  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  colonies, 
and  a  real  indignation  at  wrongs  that  were 
any  thing  but  imaginary.  The  humbleness 
of  his  social  position  in  Britain  could  have 
given  him  little  sympathy  with  an  aristocratic 


20  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1775. 

government,  wielded  by  the  privileged  and  the 
rich  for  their  own  interests,  and  in  opposition  to 
the  interests  of  the  class  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  might,  as  a  conscientious  Briton,  have 
sided  with  his  fellow  subjects  of  the  colonies, 
on  the  abstract  question  in  which  he  believed 
them  to  be  right,  in  their  struggle  against  op 
pression.  A  colonist  himself  of  two  years' 
standing,  attached,  moreover,  to  the  country 
from  the  very  early  period  when  he  had  first 
visited  it,  then  less  than  thirteen  years  old,  his 
adhesion  to  the  cause  of  America  became  not 
only  justifiable,  but  obvious.  There  may, 
however,  have  existed  a  belief  in  his  own 
mind,  that  some  of  his  family  and  friends  at 
home  might  be  led,  by  the  bias  of  their  feel 
ings  in  a  contrary  direction,  to  disapprove  of 
the  step  he  had  taken.  Perhaps  it  was  to 
spare  the  feelings  of  these,  that  he  about  this 
time  assumed  the  name  of  Jones ;  for  which 
he  himself  gives  no  reason,  and  which  may 
well  be  accounted  for  in  this  way  ;  or,  what 
is  perhaps  more  likely,  he  may  have  dreaded 
being  recognised  as  a  born  Briton,  in  case  of 
capture  in  arms  against  his  native  country. 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  21 

Though  the  Revolution  found  Jones  in  pov 
erty,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  the 
offer,  which  he  almost  immediately  made  to 
Congress,  to  serve  in  the  navy,  was  in  any 
great  measure  due  to  his  immediate  want  of 
profitable  employment.  There  was  little  in 
the  condition  of  our  national  finances,  to  ex 
cite  the  cupidity  of  office-seekers  ;  and  the 
privateers  which  were  fitted  out  from  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution,  to  cruise 
against  British  commerce.,  afforded  the  pros 
pect  of  much  greater  gain.  Jones  was  proba 
bly  impelled  by  far  nobler  motives ;  enthusi 
asm  in  the  cause  of  America,  a  spirit  of 
adventure,  and  a  chivalrous  longing  for  glory. 

Fortunately  Jones's  tender  of  his  services 
was  accepted,  and  he  was  commissioned  as 
a  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  on  the  22d  of 
December,  1775,  by  the  following  resolution  ; 
"  Resolved,  that  the  following  naval  officers  be 
appointed  :  E.  Hopkins,  Esquire,  commander- 
in-chicf  of  the  fleet.  Dudley  Saltonstall,  cap 
tain  of  the  Alfred  ;  Abraham  Whipple,  captain 
of  the  Columbus  ;  Nicholas  Biddle,  captain  of 
the  Andrew  Doria ;  John  B.  Hopkins,  captain 


22  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1775. 

of  the  Cabot.  First  lieutenants,  John  Paul 
Jones,  Rhodes  Arnold,  -  -  Stansbury,  Hers- 
ted  Hacker,  Jonathan  Pitcher.  Second  lieu 
tenants,  Benjamin  Seabury,  Joseph  Olney,  Eli- 
sha  Warner,  Thomas  Weaver,  -  -  McDou- 
gall.  Third  lieutenants,  John  Fanning,  Ezekiel 
Burroughs,  Daniel  Yaughan."  A  resolution 
was  also  passed,  for  equipping  thirteen  frigates, 
and  in  the  mean  time  a  few  vessels  were  pur 
chased  from  the  merchant  service,  and  fitted 
out  in  the  Delaware.  They  consisted  of  the 
Alfred,  of  thirty  guns  and  three  hundred  men  ; 
Columbus,  of  twenty-eight  guns  and  three 
hundred  men  ;  Andrew  Doria,  of  sixteen  guns 
and  two  hundred  men ;  Cabot,  of  fourteen 
guns  and  two  hundred  men  ;  Providence,  of 
twelve  guns ;  Hornet,  of  ten  ;  Wasp,  of  eight  ; 
and  the  despatch  vessel  Fly.  Jones  was  ap 
pointed  first  lieutenant  of  the  Alfred  flag-ship  ; 
and,  when  the  commander-in-chief  came  on 
board  of  her,  Jones  hoisted  the  American  flag 
with  his  own  hands,  being  the  first  time  it 
was  ever  displayed.  The  exact  appearance 
of  this  flag  is  not  known,  though  it  is  believed 
to  have  represented  a  pine  tree,  with  a  rattle- 


JET.  28.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  23 

snake  coiled  at  its  root,  as  if  about  to  strike. 
Our  present  national  standard  was  not  adopted 
until  nearly  two  years  later.  Jones  had  been 
offered  the  command  of  the  sloop  Providence, 
which  he  declined  j  because,  as  he  says,  he 
had  never  sailed  in  a  sloop,  and  considered 
that  rank  the  most  acceptable,  in  which  he 
could  be  most  useful  in  a  moment  of  public 
calamity. 

At  this  time  Jones  was  in  the  twenty-ninth 
year  of  his  age.  His  health  was  excellent, 
his  figure  light,  graceful,  and  active,  and  he 
was  capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue.  His 
countenance  was  thoughtful,  melancholy,  and 
somewhat  stern  in  its  expression,  and  his  air 
decidedly  officer-like.  He  must  necessarily 
have  been  a  skilful  and  dashing  seaman  ;  for, 
having  raised  himself  by  merit  alone,  without 
other  friends  than  it  procured  him,  to  the  re 
sponsible  situation  of  chief  mate  of  a  slaver  at 
the  early  age  of  nineteen,  and  to  the  command 
of  a  merchant  ship  when  barely  twenty-one, 
his  qualifications  as  a  seaman  must  have  been 
of  a  high  order.  His  familiarity,  too,  with 
armed  vessels,  and  the  command  of  numerous 


24  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1775. 

crews,  must  have  furnished  him  with  all  the 
information  essential  to  the  management  and 
discipline  of  a  man-of-war,  whilst  his  natural 
ly  lofty  and  chivalrous  character  eminently 
fitted  him  to  assume  at  once  the  bearing  of  an 
officer.  Could  Jones's  character  have  been 
penetrated  and  comprehended  at  the  first,  and 
he  placed  at  the  head  of  our  navy,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  it  would  at  once  have  as 
sumed  a  tone  and  order  to  which  it  was  long  a 
stranger,  and,  while  commending  itself  to  the 
gratitude  of  the  country  by  the  achievement 
of  glorious  deeds,  would  have  greatly  acceler 
ated  the  events  which  led  to  the  recognition 
of  our  independence. 


0.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  25 


CHAPTER  II. 

Departure  of  First  American  Squadron. — Destined  against  New 
Providence.  —  Capture  of  the  Island.  —  Squadron  returns. — 
Engagement  with  the  Glasgow.  —  Jones  Appointed  to  com 
mand  the  Providence.  —  Engaged  in  Convoying. —  Cruise  to 
Nova  Scotia.  —  Narrow  Escapes.  —  Destruction  of  Fisheries.  — 
Commands  a  Squadron.  —  Expedition  against  Cape  Breton. — 
Is  superseded  in  his  Rank.  —  Deprived  of  Command.  —  His 
Ideas  on  Naval  Organization.  —  Is  ordered  to  proceed  to  Eu 
rope,  to  take  Command  of  a  heavy  Ship.  —  Letter  from  the 
Marine  Committee.  —  Appointed  to  the  Ranger.  —  Sails  for 
France.  —  Arrives  at  Nantes. 

THIS  first  squadron  fitted  out  during  the 
revolutionary  Avar  was  originally  intended  to 
act  against  Lord  Dunmore,  who  was  ravaging 
the  shores  of  Virginia.  The  Delaware  hav 
ing,  however,  been  frozen  up  before  it  could 
get  to  sea,  its  destination  was  changed  ;  and, 
when  it  finally  sailed,  on  the  17th  of  Februa 
ry,  1776,  the  course  was  shaped  for  the  Baha 
ma  Islands.  Jones's  narrative  of  this  expedi^ 
tion,  contained  in  the  journal  drawn  up  by  him 
for  Louis  the  Sixteenth,  and  read  by  that 
unfortunate  monarch,  shortly  before  his  execu 
tion,  furnishes  the  best  account  of  it  extant. 
We  shall  accordingly  follow  it  very  closely. 


26  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1776. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  the  squadron  anchored  at 
Abaco,  carrying  in  with  it  two  sloops  belong 
ing  to  New  Providence,  which  it  had  just  cap 
tured.  From  persons  on  board  these  vessels, 
information  was  obtained,  that  the  fortifica 
tions  of  New  Providence  could  easily  be 
taken,  and  that  they  contained  a  large  supply 
of  munitions  of  war.  An  expedition  was  ac 
cordingly  determined  on  against  that  island. 

A  plan  was  formed,  to  embark  the  marines 
on  board  the  two  sloops,  keeping  the  men  be 
low  until  the  vessels  had  anchored  in  the  har 
bour,  close  to  the  forts,  when  the  marines 
were  to  land,  and  take  possession.  As  there 
was  no  force  in  the  island  capable  of  opposing 
them,  the  plan  seemed  likely  to  succeed  ;  in 
which  case  all  the  public  stores  would  have 
been  secured,  and  a  considerable  contribution 
might  have  been  obtained,  as  a  ransom  for  the 
town.  But  the  whole  squadron  very  injudi 
ciously  appeared  off  the  harbour  in  the  morn 
ing,  instead  of  remaining  out  of  sight  till  af 
ter  the  sloops  had  entered  ;  the  alarm  being 
given,  it  was  impossible  for  the  sloops  to  at 
tempt  crossing  the  bar.  The  commander-in- 


jET.  28.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  27 

chief  proposed  to  land  at  the  west  end  of  the 
island,  endeavour  to  march  the  marines  up, 
and  attack  the  town  on  the  land  side  ;  but 
Jones,  on  being  consulted,  suggested  that 
this  could  not  be  effected,  as  the  islanders 
would  have  time  to  collect,  and  there  was 
no  fit  anchorage  for  the  squadron,  nor  road 
from  that  part  of  the  island  to  the  town. 
Jones  had  learned  from  the  pilots  that  there 
was  anchorage  under  a  key,  three  leagues  to 
windward  of  the  harbour,  and  now  acquainted 
the  commander-in-chief  with  the  fact.  Hop 
kins  having  objected  to  confiding  in  the  pilots, 
Jones  personally  undertook  to  carry  the  Alfred 
safely  in.  Taking  the  pilot  to  the  fore-top 
mast  head,  from  whence  every  danger  was 
clearly  seen,  he  carried  the  squadron  in  with 
out  accident.  The  marines  were  immediately 
sent  in  by  the  east  passage,  with  two  vessels 
to  cover  their  landing.  The  inhabitants  im 
mediately  abandoned  the  forts.  In  the  course 
of  the  night,  the  governor,  finding  he  must 
surrender  the  island,  embarked  all  the  powder 
in  two  vessels,  and  sent  them  away.  Jones 
says  this  was  foreseen,  and  might  have  been 


28  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [177G. 

prevented  by  sending  the  two  brigantines  to 
lie  off  the  bar.  The  squadron  entered  the  har 
bour  of  New  Providence  the  following  morn 
ing,  being  the  17th  of  March,  and  sailed  the 
same  day,  carrying  away  near  a  hundred  can 
non,  and  other  military  stores,  together  with 
the  governor. 

In  the  night  of  the  6th  of  April,  the  squad 
ron  fell  in  with  the  British  ship  Glasgow,  of 
twenty  guns,  off  Block  Island.  After  a  run 
ning  engagement  of  several  hours,  in  which, 
notwithstanding  the  great  collective  superiori 
ty  of  our  squadron,  it  suffered  more  than  the 
enemy's  single  ship,  the  Glasgoio  got  away, 
and  the  American  squadron  ran  into  New 
London.  This  action  shows  conclusively,  not 
only  the  inefficient  character  of  these  our  first 
ships  of  war,  taken  from  the  merchant  service 
and  hastily  equipped,  but  also  the  total  unfit- 
ness  of  most  of  the  commanders.  On  this  oc 
casion,  Jones  commanded  the  lower  battery  of 
the  Alfred,  and  did  his  duty  bravely.  Had  he 
been  on  the  quarter-deck,  which  is  now  the 
station  of  the  first  lieutenant,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  Glasgoiv  would  have  been 
captured. 


JET.  29.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  29 

One  of  the  results  of  this  inglorious  action 
was  the  dismissal  of  Captain  Hazard,  of  the 
Providence  sloop,  from  the  navy,  for  having 
failed  to  do  his  duty.  Jones  was  ordered  to 
take  his  place.  The  Providence  mounted 
twelve  long  fours,  and  had  a  crew  of  seventy 
men.  After  being  engaged  for  several  months 
in  convoying  along  the  coast  between  Boston 
and  the  Delaware,  in  which  Jones  showed 
great  coolness  and  seamanship  in  avoiding  the 
enemy's  cruisers,  he  was  ordered  out  on  a  six 
weeks'  cruise  against  the  enemy's  commerce. 
In  this  vessel  Jones  put  to  sea  from  the  Dela 
ware,  on  the  21st  of  August,  and  stood  to 
the  eastward.  On  the  1st  of  September,  near 
the  latitude  of  Bermuda,  he  chased  a  large  ship, 
under  the  belief  that  it  was  a  merchantman  j 
on  a  nearer  approach,  the  ship  was  seen  to  be 
a  frigate,  afterwards  known  to  be  the  Solebay. 
After  a  chase  of  four  hours  by  the  wind,  with 
a  heavy  sea,  the  Solebay  had  got  within  mus 
ket-shot,  on  the  lee  quarter  of  the  Providence, 
keeping  up  a  fire  with  her  low  chasers,  which 
Jones  returned  with  his  light  guns,  his  colors 
being  kept  flying.  Capture  seemed  inevita- 


30  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1776. 

ble  ;  but  Jones  had  no  thought  of  yielding 
while  a  single  expedient  remained  untried. 
He  had  gradually  edged  away,  until  he 
had  brought  the  Solebay  on  his  weather  quar 
ter,  when,  putting  his  helm  suddenly  up,  he 
stood  dead  before  the  wind,  setting  all  his 
light  sails  together.  This  manoeuvre  brought 
the  vessels  within  pistol-shot ;  but,  before  the 
Solebay  could  imitate  it,  the  Providence  had 
got  a  considerable  start,  and,  sailing  better 
than  the  Solebay  with  the  wind  aft,  she  es 
caped.  Jones  subsequently  had  an  encounter 
with  the  British  frigate  Milford^  off  the  Isle 
of  Sable,  from  which  he  escaped  with  equal 
success,  and  some  little  display  of  bravado. 
He  was  lying  to,  in  order  to  allow  his  men  to 
fish,  when  the  Milford  was  first  seen.  He 
made  sail  to  try  his  speed,  and,  finding  he  had 
the  advantage,  shortened  sail  again,  to  let  the 
Milford  approach  near  enough  to  waste  her 
ammunition.  The  ship,  as  he  expected,  kept 
up  her  fire  at  a  great  distance,  occasionally 
rounding  to  and  discharging  her  broadside. 
"  He  excited  my  contempt  so  much,"  says 
Paul  Jones,  in  his  report  of  the  cruise  to  the 


LIFE  OF  PAUiL  JONES.  31 

Marine  Committee,  "  by  his  continued  firing, 
at  more  than  twice  the  proper  distance,  that 
when  he  rounded  to,  to  give  his  broadside,  I 
ordered  my  marine  officer  to  return  the  salute 
with  only  a  single  musket."  On  the  follow 
ing  day  he  entered  the  harbour  of  Canso,  where 
he  broke  up  the  fishery,  and  the  day  after 
sailed  for  the  island  of  Madam.  Here  he 
made  two.  descents,  and  destroyed  the  ship 
ping.  After  these  successful  enterprises  he 
returned  to  Newport,  having  made  sixteen  pri 
zes,  during  a  cruise  of  forty-seven  days. 

At  Jones's  suggestion,  an  expedition  was 
now  fitted  out,  and  placed  under  his  com 
mand,  to  capture  the  coal  fleet  and  break  up 
the  fishery  at  Cape  Breton,  as  well  as  to  liber 
ate  about  a  hundred  Americans,  said  to  be 
confined  at  hard  labor  in  the  mines.  Jones 
sailed  on  the  2d  of  November  on  this  ser 
vice,  in  the  Alfred,  having  the  Providence 
also  under  his  command.  Off  Louisburg  he 
took  a  brig,  with  a  valuable  cargo  of  dry 
goods,  a  scow  laden  with  fish,  and  an  armed 
ship  called  the  Hellish,  bound  to  Canada, 
with  a  cargo  of  clothing  for  the  troops.  The 


32  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1776. 

day  after  this  capture,  Jones  says  that  his  con 
sort;  the  Providence,  Captain  Hacker,  ran 
away  from  him,  and  left  him  to  prosecute  the 
expedition.  He  remarks  that  the  runaway 
made  shift  to  get  into  Newport  a  day  or  two 
before  it  was  taken.  Touching  again  at  Can- 
so,  Jones  destroyed  a  transport  which  was  lying 
in  the  harbour,  burnt  a  warehouse  of  oil,  and 
buildings  connected  with  the  fisheries.  Off 
Louisburg,  during  a  fog,  he  captured  three 
coal  vessels,  which  were  under  convoy,  and, 
two  days  later,  a  Liverpool  letter  of  marque. 
Finding  the  harbour  adjacent  to  the  coal 
mines  frozen  up,  having  one  hundred  and 
fifty  prisoners  on  board  the  Alfred,  and  being, 
moreover,  short  of  water  and  provisions,  he 
abandoned  the  further  prosecution  of  his  en 
terprise,  and  shaped  his  course  homeward, 
with  five  prizes  under  convoy.  On  the  7th 
of  December,  he  again  fell  in  with  the  Mil- 
ford,  on  St.  George's  Bank,  which  gave  chase 
to  him,  and  captured  one  of  his  prizes. 
Jones  got  into  Boston  on  the  15th  of  De 
cember.  The  Mellish  arrived  safely  at  Dart 
mouth,  and  the  clothing  with  which  she  was 


y£r.  29.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  33 

laden  was  of  incalculable  use  to  the  army 
under  Washington,  which  was  at  this  incle 
ment  season  of  the  year  in  a  very  destitute 
condition. 

The  reward  which  awaited  Jones  on  his 
arrival,  for  these  faithful  and  important  servi 
ces,  was,  to  be  superseded  in  the  command 
of  the  Alfred,  by  Captain  Hinman,  and  be 
ordered  back  to  the  Providence.  He  was 
obliged  not  only  to  submit  to  this  indignity, 
but  to  find  himself  placed  eighteenth  on  the 
list  of  captains,  whereas,  in  the  original  ap 
pointment  of  officers  in  the  navy,  he  stood 
sixth  from  the  head  of  the  list ;  he  being  then 
the  senior  lieutenant  of  the  navy.  He  subse 
quently  received  a  commission  as  captain, 
dated  the  8th  of  August,  1776,  and,  on  the 
10th  day  of  October  following,  a  new  list  of 
captains  was  made  out,  many  on  the  list  hav 
ing  been  commissioned  only  on  that  day, 
and  yet  placed  above  him.  This  grievous  in 
justice  to  Jones,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
splendor  of  his  subsequent  achievements,  was 
never  redressed,  was  a  perpetual  source  of  an 
noyance  to  him.  He  was  true  to  himself  in 

VOL.     I.  3 


34  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

never  acquiescing  in  it,  and  returned,  after  a 
lapse  of  years,  to  bring  forward  arguments  in 
favor  of  his  seniority,  which  could  not  be  an 
swered,  though  they  produced  no  effect. 
Long  after  the  injustice  had  been  done,  he 
thus  expresses  himself  on  the  subject.  "  I 
was  superseded  in  favor  of  thirteen  persons, 
two  of  whom  were  my  junior  lieutenants  at 
the  beginning ;  the  rest  were  only  commis 
sioned  into  the  Continental  navy  on  that  day  j 
and,  if  they  had  any  superior  abilities,  these 
were  not  then  known,  nor  have  since  been 
proved.  I  am  the  oldest  sea-officer,  except 
Captain  Whipple,  on  the  journal  and  under 
the  commission  of  Congress,  remaining  in  the 
service.  In  the  year  1775,  when  the  navy 
was  established,  some  of  the  gentlemen  by 
whom  I  was  superseded  were  applied  to,  to 
embark  in  the  first  expedition ;  but  they  de 
clined.  Captain  Whipple  has  often  and  lately 
told  me,  that  they  said  to  him.  they  did  not 
choose  to  be  hanged."  He  afterwards  adds  ; 
"  It  has  been  said,  with  a  degree  of  contempt, 
by  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  came  into  the 
navy  the  second  year  of  the  war,  that  I  was 


JE-r.  29.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  35 

only  a  lieutenant  at  the  beginning  ;  and  pray 
what  were  they,  when  I  was  out  on  the  ocean 
in  that  character  ? "  He  seems,  indeed,  to 
have  china:  with  the  feeling  of  a  true  hero  to 

o  G 

the  sacredness  of  that  "  rank"  which,  in  his 
own  noble  and  comprehensive  expression, 
"  opens  the  door  to  glory."  It  was  a  simliar 
injustice  to  this,  which,  operating  on  the  less 
honorable  mind  of  Arnold,  first  excited  that 
spirit  of  discontent,  which,  encouraged  by 
other  causes,  at  length  ripened  into  treason. 

Jones  was  superseded  in  the  command  of 
the  Alfred  on  the  14th  of  January,  1777,  by 
an  order  from  Commodore  Hopkins,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  navy,  and  in  conse 
quence,  probably,  of  his  remonstrances  on  this 
account,  and  on  account  of  being  superseded 
in  his  rank,  he  received  an  order  from  the 
vice-president  of  the  Marine  Committee  of 
Congress,  dated  the  5th  of  February  follow 
ing,  to  undertake  an  expedition  against  Pensa- 
cola  and  other  places,  having  under  his  com 
mand  the  Alfred,  Columbus,  Cabot,  Hamp- 
den:  and  Providence.  Owing,  however,  to 
some  want  of  formality,  or  the  irregularity 


36  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  [1777. 

with  which  every  thing  was  conducted,  a.nd 
in  some  measure,  perhaps,  to  the  mean  jeal 
ousy  of  the  inefficient  Commodore,  he  affected 
to  disbelieve  the  reality  of  Jones's  appoint 
ment,  and  refused  to  recognise  it. 

In  order  to  elucidate  this  strange  transac 
tion,  and  to  seek  redress  of  the  injustice 
which  had  been  done  him  with  regard  to  his 
rank,  Jones  made  a  visit  to  Philadelphia. 
The  only  result  of  his  exertions,  with  regard 
to  the  proposed  expedition  against  Pensacola, 
was,  that  it  was  wholly  abandoned  ;  and,  with 
regard  to  the  restoration  of  his  rank,  his  efforts 
were  equally  unavailing.  It  seemed  that,  both 
as  to  the  command  of  the  best  ships,  and 
to  a  favorable  position  on  the  navy  list,  the 
recommendation  of  the  provinces,  especially 
those  in  which  the  new  frigates  were  building, 
in  favor  of  citizens  of  influential  families,  was 
of  far  greater  weight  than  the  length,  value, 
and  priority  of  Jones's  service.  The  circum 
stance  of  his  having  been  born  a  foreigner 
probably  operated  against  him.  Still  the  Ma 
rine  Committee  did  him  the  justice  to  express 
regret,  that  they  had  not  a  good  ship  vacant 


LIFE   OF   PAUL   JOJNES.  37 

for  him  to  command ;  and,  soon  after,  three 
ships  were  ordered  to  be  purchased  in  Boston, 
and  Jones  was  specially  authorized,  by  a  reso 
lution  of  Congress,  to  choose  the  best  of  them, 
"  until  better  provision  could  be  made  for  him." 
He  was  now  ordered  to  Boston,  to  make  his 
selection  and  fit  out  his  ship.  Perhaps  the 
Marine  Committee  were  not  unwilling,  while 
doing  tardy  justice  to  Paul  Jones,  to  be  also 
rid  of  his  importunities  :  for,  in  his  strong  de 
sire  to  be  employed,  and  in  the  road  to  honor 
able  distinction,  he  followed  every  one  in  au 
thority  closely  up,  both  by  correspondence  and 
by  personal  solicitation. 

His  letters  of  this  period  are  full  of  enlight 
ened  views  on  the  subject  of  naval  organiza 
tion  ;  and  such  of  them  as  were  not  adopted  at 
the  time,  a  mature  experience  has  forced  upon 
the  country,  as  necessary  measures  of  improve 
ment.  To  Robert  Morris,  a  member  of  the 
Marine  Committee,  and  the  early,  steadfast, 
and  enlightened  friend  of  Jones,  he  thus,  at 
various  times,  addressed  himself.  "  As  the 
regulations  of  the  navy  are  of  the  utmost  con 
sequence,  you  will  not  think  it  presumptuous, 


38  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

if,  with  the  utmost  diffidence,  I  venture  to 
communicate  to  you  such  hints  as,  in  my 
judgment,  will  promote  its  honor  and  good 
government.  I  could  heartily  wish  that  every 
commissioned  officer  were  to  be  previously 
examined  ;  for,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  there 
are  persons  who  have  already  crept  into  com 
mission  without  abilities  or  fit  qualifications : 
I  am  myself  far  from  desiring  to  be  excused. 
From  experience  in  ours,  as  well  as  from  my 
former  intimacy  with  many  officers  of  note  in 
the  British  navy,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
parity  of  rank  between  sea  and  land  or  marine 
officers,  is  of  more  consequence  to  the  harmo 
ny  of  the  sea  service  than  has  generally  been 
imagined.  In  the  British  establishment,  an 
admiral  ranks  with  a  general,  a  vice-admiral 
with  a  lieutenant-general,  a  rear-admiral  with 
a  major-general,  a  commodore  with  a  briga 
dier-general,  a  captain  with  a  colonel,  a  master 
and  commander  with  a  lieutenant-colonel,  a 
lieutenant  commanding  with  a  major,  and  a 
lieutenant  in  the  navy  with  a  captain  of  horse, 
foot,  or  marines.  I  propose  not  our  enemies 
as  an  example  for  our  general  imitation ;  yet, 


/Ex.  29.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  39 

as  their  navy  is  the  best  regulated  of  any  in 
the  world,  we  must,  in  some  degree,  imitate 
them,  and  aim  at  such  further  improvement  as 
may  one  day  make  ours  vie  with  and  exceed 
theirs." 

With  regard  to  the  difficulty  of  recruiting 
seamen,  many  of  whom  had  entered  the  army 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  and  more  had 
engaged  in  privateering,  he  says ;  "  It  is  to  the 
last  degree  distressing  to  contemplate  the  state 
and  establishment  of  our  navy.  The  common 
class  of  mankind  are  actuated  by  no  nobler 
principle  than  that  of  self-interest  ;  this,  and 
this  alone,  determines  all  adventurers  in  priva 
teers  ;  the  owners,  as  well  as  those  whom 
they  employ.  And  while  this  is  the  case, 
unless  the  private  emolument  of  individuals  in 
our  navy  is  made  superior  to  that  in  privateers, 
it  can  never  become  respectable  ;  it  never  will 
become  formidable.  And  without  a  respecta 
ble  navy  —  alas  !  America.  In  the  present 
critical  situation  of  affairs,  human  wisdom  can 
suggest  no  more  than  one  infallible  expedient ; 
enlist  the  seamen  during  pleasure,  and  give 
them  all  the  prizes.  What  is  the  paltry  emol- 


40  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

ument  of  two  thirds  of  prizes  to  the  finances 
of  this  vast  continent.  If  so  poor  a  resource 
is  essential  to  its  independency,  in  sober  sad 
ness  we  are  involved  in  a  woful  predicament, 
and  our  ruin  is  fast  approaching.  The  situa 
tion  of  America  is  new  in  the  annals  of  man 
kind  ;  her  affairs  cry  haste,  and  speed  must 
answer  them.  Trifles,  therefore,  ought  to  be 
wholly  disregarded,  as  being,  in  the  old  vulgar 
proverb,  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish.  If 
our  enemies,  with  the  best  establishment  and 
most  formidable  navy  in  the  universe,  have 
found  it  expedient  to  assign  all  prizes  to  the 
captors,  how  much  more  is  such  policy  essen 
tial  to  our  infant  fleet  ;  but  I  need  use  no  ar 
guments  to  convince  you  of  the  necessity  of 
making  the  emoluments  of  our  navy  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  theirs.  We  have  had  proof 
that  a  navy  may  be  officered  on  almost  any 
terms,  but  we  are  not  so  sure  that  these  offi 
cers  are  equal  to  their  commissions  ;  nor  will 
the  Congress  ever  obtain  such  certainty,  until 
they,  in  their  wisdom,  see  proper  to  appoint  a 
board  of  admiralty,  competent  to  determine 
impartially  the  respective  merits  and  abilities 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JOIs'ES.  41 

of  their  officers,  and  to  superintend,  regulate, 
and  point  out,  all  the  motions  and  operations 
of  the  navy." 

In  another  letter,  also  to  Robert  Morris,  he 
says,  "  There  are  no  officers  more  immediate 
ly  wanted  in  the  marine  department,  than 
commissioners  of  dock-yards,  to  superintend 
the  building  and  outfits  of  all  ships  of  war  ; 
with  power  to  appoint  deputies,  to  provide,  and 
have  in  constant  readiness,  sufficient  quantities 
of  provisions,  stores,  and  slops,  so  that  the 
small  number  of  ships  we  have  may  be  con 
stantly  employed,  and  not  continue  idle,  as 
they  do  at  present.  Besides  all  the  advanta 
ges  that  would  arise  from  such  appointments, 
the  saving  which  would  accrue  to  the  conti 
nent  is  worth  attending  to.  Had  such  men 
been  appointed  at  the  first,  the  new  ships 
might  have  been  at  sea  long  ago.  The  diffi 
culty  now  lies  in  finding  men  who  are  deserv 
ing,  and  who  are  fitly  cjualified  for  an  office 
of  such  importance." 

These  wise  suggestions  of  Jones  are  the 
more  creditable  to  him,  from  having  been 
made  when  he  was  as  yet  a  naval  officer  of 


42  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

little  more  than  a  year's  standing.  They  are 
characterized  throughout  by  a  sound  and  dis 
criminating  judgment  and  practical  good 
sense.  The  best  commendation  that  can  be 
passed  upon  them  is  the  fact,  that  Congress 
soon  after  adopted  most  of  them,  by  estab 
lishing  a  parity  of  rank  between  the  navy 
and  army,  on  the  basis  proposed  by  Jones,  in 
which  provision  was  made  for  the  assimilated 
rank  of  admirals,  vice-admirals,  and  rear-admi 
rals,  though,  unfortunately  for  the  efficiency 
of  the  service,  no  appointments  to  fill  those 
grades  have  ever  been  made  ;  and  by  increas 
ing  the  portion  of  prizes  to  be  assigned  to  cap 
tors,  so  as  to  give  them  one  half  of  merchant 
men,  transports,  and  store-ships,  and  the 
whole  value  of  men-of-war  and  privateers, 
taken  from  the  enemy.  The  other  sugges 
tions  of  Jones,  with  regard  to  the  organization 
of  dock-yards,  the  examination  of  officers  be 
fore  promotion,  and  the  increase  of  the  term 
of  enlistment  of  seamen,  have  gradually  been 
acted  upon ;  and  the  only  matter  of  regret  is, 
that  these  things  should  have  been  so  long 
delayed. 


^Er.  29.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  43 

About  the  same  time,  Paul  Jones  addressed 
a  letter  to  a  former  friend  in  the  island  of  To 
bago,  which  furnishes  some  insight  into  his 
private  affairs,  and  is  interesting,  as  it  affords 
a  gratifying  evidence  of  his  affectionate  regard 
for  his  family.  He  forwarded  a  power  of  at 
torney  to  his  friend,  and  a  statement  of  some 
unsettled  accounts  which  he  had  left,  when  he 
removed  to  Virginia,  earnestly  requesting  him 
to  transmit  whatever  balance  should  remain 
on  closing  his  accounts,  (and  he  apprehended 
there  would  be  a  considerable  one,)  to  his 
mother  in  Scotland,  for  her  support,  and  that 
of  some  of  her  orphan  grandchildren. 

While  Paul  Jones  was  waiting  at  Boston, 
for  the  purchase  of  the  three  ships  of  which 
he  was  to  have  the  choice,  he  received  an 
honorable  proof  of  the  favorable  opinion  of 
Congress,  in  being  ordered  to  proceed  «  to 
France  in  the  French  merchant  ship  Amphi- 
tritc.  and  to  carry  out  officers  and  seamen,  in 
order  to  take  command  of  a  heavy  ship,  to  be 
purchased  for  him  on  his  arrival  in  Europe. 
The  following  letter  from  the  Marine  Commit 
tee  of  Congress,  to  the  American  Commission- 


44  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

ers  at  Paris,  was  transmitted  to  Jones,  together 
with  his  order  to  take  passage  in  the 
Anvphitrite. 

"  Philadelphia,  9  May,  1777. 
"  Honorable  Gentlemen, 

"  This  letter  is  intended  to  be  delivered  to 
you  by  John  Paul  Jones,  Esquire,  an  active 
and  brave  commander  in  our  navy,  who  has 
already  performed  signal  services  in  vessels  of 
little  force  ;  and,  in  reward  for  his  zeal,  we 
have  directed  him  to  go  on  board  the  Ainphi- 
trite,  a  French  ship  of  twenty  guns,  that 
brought  in  a  valuable  cargo  of  stores  from 
Messrs.  Hortalez  &  Co.,*  and  with  her  to  re 
pair  to  France.  He  takes  with  him  his  com 
mission,  and  some  officers  and  men,  so  that  we 
hope  he  will,  under  that  sanction,  make  some 
good  prizes  with  the  Amphitrite  ;  but  our  de 
sign  of  sending  him  is,  with  the  approbation 
of  Congress,  that  you  may  purchase  one  of 
those  fine  frigates  that  Mr.  Deane  writes  us 
you  can  get,  and  invest  him  with  the  com 
mand  thereof  as  soon  as  possible.  We  hope 

*  A  fictitious  house,  under  the  name  of  which  the 
Commissioners  sent  out  military  stores. 


JET.  29.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  45 

you  may  not  delay  this  business  one  moment, 
but  purchase,  in  such  port  or  place  in  Europe 
as  it  can  be  done  with  most  convenience 
and  despatch,  a  fine,  fast-sailing  frigate,  or 
larger  ship.  Direct  Captain  Jones  where  he 
must  repair  to,  and  he  will  take  with  him  his 
officers  and  men  towards  manning  her.  You 
will  assign  him  some  good  house  or  agent, 
to  supply  him  with  every  thing  necessary  to 
get  the  ship  speedily  and  well  equipped  and 
manned  ;  somebody  that  will  bestir  himself 
vigorously  in  the  business,  and  never  quit  it 
until  it  is  accomplished. 

"  If  you  have  any  plan  or  service  to  be  per 
formed  in  Europe  by  such  a  ship,  that  you 
think  will  be  more  for  the  interest  and  honor 
of  the  States,  than  sending  her  out  directly, 
Captain  Jones  is  instructed  to  obey  your  or 
ders  ;  and,  to  save  repetition,  let  him  lay 
before  you  the  instructions  we  have  given 
him,  and  furnish  you  with  a  copy  thereof. 
You  can  then  judge  what  will  be  necessary 
for  you  to  direct  him  in ;  and  whatever  you  do 
will  be  approved,  as  it  will  undoubtedly  tend 
to  promote  the  public  service  of  this  country. 


46  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

"  You  see  by  this  step,  how  much  de 
pendence  Congress  places  in  your  advices ; 
and  you  must  make  it  a  point  not  to  disap 
point  Captain  Jones's  wishes  and  expectations 
on  this  occasion." 

Owing  to  some  difficulty  made  by  the  com 
mander  of  the  Amphitrite,  with  regard  to 
receiving  Jones  and  his  officers  and  men  on 
board  of  his  ship,  this  arrangement  fell 
through ;  and,  in  consequence,  Congress,  on 
the  14th  of  June,  invested  Jones  with  the  com 
mand  of  the  Ranger,  a  new  ship,  built  for  the 
service  at  Portsmouth.  His  appointment  was 
contained  in  the  following  resolutions.  "  Re 
solved,  that  the  flag  of  the  thirteen  United 
States  be  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and 
white  ;  that  the  union  be  thirteen  stars,  white 
in  a  blue  field,  representing  a  new  constella 
tion.  Resolved,  that  Captain  John  Paul  Jones 
be  appointed  to  command  the  ship  Ranger. 
Resolved,  that  William  Whipple,  Esquire, 
member  of  Congress  and  of  the  Marine  Com 
mittee,  John  Langdon,  Esquire,  Continental 
agent,  and  the  said  John  Paul  Jones,  be  au 
thorized  to  appoint  lieutenants  and  other  com- 


JE-r.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  47 

missioned  and  warrant  officers,  necessary  for 
the  said  ship ;  and  that  blank  commissions 
and  warrants  be  sent  them,  to  be  filled  up  with 
the  names  of  the  persons  they  appoint,  returns 
whereof  to  be  made  to  the  navy  board  in  the 
eastern  department."  Jones  immediately  com 
missioned  the  Ranger  at  Portsmouth,  and  no 
doubt  was  the  first  to  hoist  the  new  flag  of 
the  republic  on  board  that  ship,  as  he  did  the 
original  one,  with  his  own  hands,  on  board 
the  Alfred,  not  quite  two  years  before. 

Though  great  diligence  was  used  by  Jones 
in  equipping  the  Ranger  for  sea,  she  was  not 
ready  to  proceed  on  her  destination,  until  the 
middle  of  October.  Twenty-six  guns  had 
been  provided  for  the  ship,  but  Jones  exercis 
ed  great  judgment  in  mounting  only  eighteen 
on  her,  as  he  considered,  from  her  size  and 
slight  construction,  that  she  would  be  more 
serviceable  with  eighteen  than  with  a  greater 
number.  The  following  extract  from  his  letter 
to  the  Marine  Committee,  dated  on  the  29th 
of  October,  1777,  gives  a  lively  idea  of  the 
difficulties  he  had  to  contend  with,  and  of  the 
poverty  of  our  resources.  "  With  all  my  in- 


48  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1777. 

dustry  I  could  not  get  the  single  suit  of  sails 
completed  until  the  20th  current.  Since  that 
time  the  winds  and  weather  have  laid  me  un 
der  the  necessity  of  continuing  in  port.  At 
this  time  it  blows  a  very  heavy  gale  from  the 
northeast.  The  ship  with  difficulty  rides  it 
out,  with  yards  and  topmasts  struck,  and 
whole  cables  ahead.  When  it  clears  up,  I  ex 
pect  the  wind  from  the  northwest,  and  shall 
not  fail  to  embrace  it,  although  I  have  not 
now  a  spare  sail,  nor  materials  to  make  one. 
Some  of  those  I  have  are  made  of  hissings.  I 
never  before  had  so  disagreeable  service  to 
perform,  as  that  which  I  have  now  accom 
plished,  and  of  which  another  will  claim  the 
credit  as  well  as  the  profit.  However,  in 
doing  my  utmost,  I  am  sensible  that  I  have 
done  no  more  than  my  duty." 

Thus  imperfectly  equipped,  having  a  very 
good  crew,  but  "  only  thirty  gallons  of  rum," 
as  Jones  laments,  for  them  to  drink  on  the 
passage,  the  Ranger  sailed  from  Portsmouth 
on  the  1st  of  November,  1777.  The  ship 
proved  exceedingly  crank,  and  Jones,  no 
doubt,  had  occasion  to  congratulate  himself 


jET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  49 

on  his  judicious  forethought  in  leaving  eight 
of  his  guns  on  shore.  He  made  two  prizes 
on  his  passage,  chased  a  fleet  of  ten  sail,  under 
a  strong  convoy,  without  being  able  to  cut 
any  of  them  out,  and  arrived  safely  at  Nantes, 
on  the  2d  of  December,  1777. 

He  immediately  forwarded  to  the  Amer 
ican  Commissioners  at  Paris,  the  letter  from 
the  Marine  Committee,  of  which  he  was  the 
bearer,  and  expressed  at  the  same  time  his 
great  desire  to  render  useful  services  to  the 
American  cause.  He  gave  it  as  an  opinion  he 
had  long  entertained,  that  our  ships  should  be 
employed  singly  or  in  small  squadrons,  on  de 
tached  services,  remote  from  each  other.  The 
field  of  cruising  being  thus  extended,  and  per 
fect  secrecy  being  observed  with  regard  to  our 
projects,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the 
enemy  had  many  important  places  in  such 
a  defenceless  state,  that  they  might  easily  be 
surprised  and  taken  by  a  small  force.  "  We 
cannot,"  he  says,  "  yet  fight  their  navy  ;  as 
their  numbers  and  force  are  so  far  superior  to 
ours.  Therefore  it  seems  to  be  our  most  nat 
ural  province,  to  surprise  their  defenceless  pla- 

VOL.    I.  4 


50  LIFE  OF  PAUL   JONES.  [1777. 

CCS,  and   thereby   divert   their  attention,  and 
draw  it  from  our  own  coasts." 

These  suggestions  contained  the  plan  of 
annoyance,  which  was  eventually  adopted  in 
Paul  Jones's  cruises  in  the  European  seas. 
While  waiting  for  the  instructions  of  the 
Commissioners,  he  employed  himself  in  short 
ening  the  lower  masts  of  the  Ranger,  and  in 
altering  the  stowage  of  her  ballast,  so  as  to 
increase  her  stability. 


.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  51 


CHAPTER  III. 

Jones  visits   Paris.  —  Transfer  of  the  Indieri  to  France.  —  Submits 
a  I'laii  for  employing  the  French  Fleet.  —  Returns  to  Nantes. 

—  Sails  for  Brest.  —  Receives  the  first   Salute   abroad  to  the 
American    Flag.  —  Projects   a  Cruise.  —  Sails    from  Brest.  — 
Enters   the   Irish  Channel.  —  Makes  various  Prizes.  —  Appears 
off  Carrickfergns. —  Bold  Attempt  to  board  the  Drake,  at  An 
chor. —  Descent  on    Whitehaven.  — Capture   of  the    Forts. — 
Consternation   of  the  Inhabitants.  —  Return  to  the  Ranger. — 
Propriety  of  the  Enterprise,  generally,  as  undertaken  by  Jones. 

—  Descent  on  St.  Mary's    Isle. — Removal   of  Lord   Selkirk's 
Plate.  —  Alarm  at  Kirkcudbright.  —  Second  Appearance  off  Car- 
rickfergus. —  Engagement  with   the  Drake.  —  Arrest  of  Lieu 
tenant  Simpson.  —  Arrival   at  Brest.  —  Letter  to  Lady  Selkirk. 

—  Restoration  of  the  Plate. 

ON  the  receipt  of  Paul  Jones's  letter,  the 
American  Commissioners  invited  him  to  re 
pair  to  Paris,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting 
with  them  on  the  subject  of  his  future  em 
ployment.  On  his  arrival  there,  he  found  that 
he  should  be  obliged  to  relinquish  the  flattering 
prospect  with  which  he  had  come  to  Europe, 
of  being  placed  in  command  of  the  fine  frigate 
Indicn,  then  building  at  Amsterdam  for  the 
service  of  Congress.  Owing  to  the  opposition 
made  to  the  equipment  of  this  ship  by  the 
British  minister  at  the  Hague,  who  had  dis 
covered  the  secret  of  her  ownership  and  desti- 


52  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  [1778. 

nation,  the  Commissioners  had  sold  her  to 
France.  This  was  a  real  misfortune  to  Amer 
ica,  as  well  as  to  Jones.  He  submitted,  how 
ever,  to  the  disappointment,  with  as  good  a 
grace  as  his  irritability  would  permit,  and  re 
turned  to  Nantes,  for  the  purpose  of  complet 
ing  the  equipment  of  the  Ranger,  and  making 
a  cruise  in  her  for  the  annoyance  of  the  Brit 
ish  coasts,  in  conformity  with  the  suggestion 
contained  in  his  letter  to  the  Commissioners. 

It  is  probable  that,  while  in  Paris,  he  was 
also  consulted,  at  the  request  of  the  French 
ministry,  with  regard  to  the  employment  of 
the  Count  D'Estaing's  fleet,  France  being 
then  on  the  eve  of  commencing  hostilities 
against  England.  At  any  rate,  Jones  submit 
ted  a  written  plan  for  the  employment  of  that 
fleet,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Silas  Deane,  one  of  the 
Commissioners,  immediately  after  his  return 
from  Paris  to  Nantes  ;  which  plan  he  repeat 
edly  asserts  to  have  been  the  one  that  was 
adopted.  In  his  memoir  to  the  King  of 
France,  whose  recollection  must  have  furnish 
ed  him  with  the  means  of  detecting  any  mis- 
statement  with  regard  to  a  matter  with  which 


jE-r.30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  53 

he  must  necessarily  have  been  acquainted, 
Jones  distinctly  says,  while  speaking  of  him 
self  in  the  third  person  ;  "On  receiving  agree 
able  news  of  affairs  in  America,  and  the  posi 
tion  of  Lord  Howe's  fleet,  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Deane.  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Con 
gress,  at  Paris,  containing  the  plan  that  was 
adopted  ;  which  would  have  ended  the  war, 
had  it  been  immediately  pursued."  In  a  sub 
sequent  letter  to  the  French  Minister  of  Ma 
rine,  who  must  also  have  been  familiar  with 
the  facts,  he  thus  repeats  the  claim  ;  "  Had 
Count  D'Estaing  arrived  in  the  Delaware  a 
few  days  sooner,  he  might  have  made  a  most 
glorious  and  easy  conquest.  Many  successful 
projects  may  be  adopted  from  the  hints  which 
I  had  the  honor  to  draw  up  ;  and,  if  I  can  still 
furnish  more,  or  execute  any  of  those  already 
furnished,  so  as  to  distress  and  humble  the 
common  enemy,  it  will  afford  me  the  truest 
pleasure."  The  plan  for  the  employment  of 
D'Estaing  proposed  that  he  should  fall  sud 
denly  upon  the  British  fleet  under  Lord  Howe, 
which  Avas  of  inferior  force,  and  destroy  it,  or 
at  least  block  it  up  in  the  Delaware,  together 


54  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

with  the  transports  and  victuallers  under  its 
convoy.  Shortly  before  D'Estaing  appeared. 
Lord  Howe  succeeded  in  placing  the  fleet  in 
security.  Nothing  is  more  likely  than  that 
Jones  should  indeed  have  been  the  author  of 
this  project.  He  was  familiar  with  the  situa 
tion  of  affairs  in  America,  from  which  he  had 
just  arrived,  and  was  moreover  eminently  fit 
ted  by  his  qualities  of  mind  and  character  to 
shape  out  a  bold  and  ingenious  plan  of  naval 
enterprise.* 

From  Nantes,  Jones  proceeded  in  the  Ran 
ger  to  duiberon  bay,  giving  convoy  to  some 
American  vessels  which  were  desirous  of  join 
ing  the  convoy  of  the  French  fleet,  command 
ed  by  Admiral  La  Motte  Piquet,  who  had 
been  ordered  to  keep  the  coast  of  France 
clear  of  British  cruisers.  From  this  admiral 
he  succeeded,  after  some  correspondence  and 
the  exhibition  of  considerable  address,  in  ob 
taining  the  promise  of  having  his  salute  re 
turned.  Writing  to  the  Marine  Committee, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1778,  he  thus  speaks 
of  this  aflair. 

*  See  note  at  the  end  of  Vol.  II. 


jE-r.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  55 

"I  am  happy  in  having  it  in  my  power  to 
congratulate  you  on  my  having  seen  the 
American  flag,  for  the  first  time,  recognised 
in  the  fullest  and  completest  manner,  by  the 
flag  of  France.  I  was  off  their  bay  the  13th 
instant,  and  sent  my  boat  in  the  next  day,  to 
know  if  the  admiral  would  return  my  salute. 
He  answered,  that  he  would  return  to  me,  as 
the  senior  American  Continental  officer  in  Eu 
rope,  the  same  salute  which  he  was  authorized 
by  his  Court  to  return  to  an  admiral  of  Hol 
land,  or  any  other  republic,  which  was  four 
guns  less  than  the  salute  given.  I  hesitated 
at  this  ;  for  I  had  demanded  gun  for  gun. 
Therefore,  I  anchored  in  the  entrance  of  the 
bay,  at  a  distance  from  the  French  fleet  ;  but, 
after  a  very  particular  inquiry  on  the  14th, 
finding  that  he  had  really  told  the  truth,  I 
was  induced  to  accept  of  his  offer,  the  more 
so,  as  it  was  in  fact  an  acknowledgment  of 

'  O 

American  independence.  The  wind  being 
contrary  and  blowing  hard,  it  was  after  sun 
set  before  the  Ranger  got  near  enough  to  sa 
lute  La  Motte  Piquet  with  thirteen  guns, 
which  he  returned  with  nine.  However,  to 
put  the  matter  beyond  a  doubt,  I  did  not  suf- 


56  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

fer  the  Independence  to  salute  till  next  morn 
ing,  when  I  sent  the  admiral  word  that  1 
would  sail  through  his  fleet  in  the  brig,  and 
would  salute  him  in  open  day.  He  was  ex 
ceedingly  pleased,  and  he  returned  the  com 
pliment  also  with  nine  guns." 

This  brig  Independence  was  probably  a 
privateer,  which  had  placed  itself  temporari 
ly  under  Jones's  orders.  His  sailing  in  her 
through  the  French  fleet  was  a  very  charac 
teristic  trait.  It  was  his  plan  to  do  every 
thing  with  proper  ceremony.  Nor  was  this 
interchange  of  courtesy  a  matter  of  inferior 
importance  at  that  time  ;  though  now  Ameri 
ca,  republic  though  she  be,  salutes  no  foreign 
flag,  without  receiving  gun  for  gun.  Paul 
Jones  had  thus  the  singular  honor  of  being 
the  first  to  hoist  the  original  flag  of  liberty  on 
board  the  Alfred,  first,  probably,  to  hoist  the 
flag,  which,  after  more  than  half  a  century, 
still  waves  in  pride  as  our  national  emblem, 
and  first  to  claim  for  it  from  foreigners  the 
courtesy  due  to  a  sovereign  state. 

In  the  sequel  of  the  letter  last  quoted,  Jones 
gives  us  the  following  insight  into  his  views. 


./Ex.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  57 

"  I  have  in  contemplation  several  enterprises 
of  some  importance.  When  an  enemy  thinks 
a  design  against  him  improbable,  he  can  al 
ways  be  surprised  and  attacked  with  advan 
tage.  It  is  true,  I  must  run  great  risk  :  but 
no  gallant  action  was  ever  performed  without 
danger.  Therefore,  though  I  cannot  insure 
success.  I  will  endeavour  to  deserve  it."  In 
fulfilment  of  these  views,  he  put  to  sea  in  the 
Ranger  from  Brest,  on  the  10th  of  April.  On 
the  14th  he  took  a  brigantine  between  Scilly 
and  Cape  Clear.  She  had  a  cargo  of  flax- 
seed,  and  was  bound  to  Ireland.  Having 
burned  her,  he  ran  into  the  Irish  Channel. 
On  the  17th  he  took  a  ship  bound  from  Lon 
don  to  Dublin,  with  a  cargo  of  porter  and 
other  goods  ;  this  ship  he  manned  and  ordered 
to  Brest.  On  the  following  evening,  the 
Ranger  was  off  the  Isle  of  Man.  The  wind 
was  fair  for  Whitehaven,  and  Jones  determin 
ed  to  stand  for  that  place,  in  order  to  execute 
a  project,  which  he  had  formed,  to  attack  the 
town  and  burn  the  shipping,  and  thus,  as  he 
said,  "  to  put  an  end,  by  one  good  fire,  in 
England,  of  shipping,  to  all  the  burnings  in 


58  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JO^ES.  [1778. 

America."  At  ten  o'clock  he  was  off  the  har 
bour,  and  had  his  boats  ready  to  start  ;  but, 
before  they  had  left  the  ship,  the  wind  shifted 
and  commenced  blowing  fresh  directly  on 
shore,  accompanied  by  a  heavy  sea.  The  ex 
pedition  was  necessarily  abandoned  for  the 
present,  and  Jones  was  even  obliged  to  carry 
sail  heavily  on  his  ship,  in  order  to  keep  her 
clear  of  the  land. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th,  being  off  the 
Mull  of  Galloway,  he  learned  from  a  schoon 
er,  which  he  captured  and  sunk,  that  there 
were  ten  or  twelve  sail  of  merchantmen, 
besides  a  king's  tender  with  a  number  of  im 
pressed  seamen  on  board,  at  anchor  in  Loch- 
vyau,  on  the  Scotch  coast.  He  at  once  deter 
mined  to  enter  and  capture  them,  as  the  wind 
was  fair  both  to  enter  and  leave  the  loch ;  but, 
as  he  was  about  to  put  his  project  into  execu 
tion,  the  wind  shifted  suddenly  in  a  squall, 
and  blew  directly  in,  with  an  appearance  of 
bad  weather,  compelling  him  to  give  up  the 
enterprise. 

On  the  20th,  the  Ranger  sunk  a  sloop,  and 
on  the  following  day,  being  off  Carrickfergus, 


yEr.30.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  59 

a  fishing  boat  boarded  her,  from  the  crew  of 
which  Jones  learned  that  a  ship  which  he  saw 
at  anchor  in  Belfast  Loch,  was  the  sloop  of 
war  Drake,  of  twenty  guns.  Jones  immedi 
ately  conceived  the  bold  project  of  running 
into  the  harbour,  and  overlaying  her  cable,  so 
as  to  drop  foul  of  her  bow.  having  her  decks 
open  to  the  Ranger's  musketry,  to  cover  the 
boarders.  As  the  night  came  on,  the  ship  was 
cleared  for  action,  the  grapnels  were  triced  up 
to  the  yard-arms,  ready  for  falling  on  the  ene 
my's  decks,  to  secure  her  in  case  she  should 
cut  her  cable,  and  the  boarders  prepared  for 
service.  One  of  the  fishermen  was  compelled 
to  act  as  pilot,  and  all  lights  were  carefully  con 
cealed,  to  prevent  the  discovery  of  the  Ran 
ger's  guns,  and  other  evidences  of  her  warlike 
character  and  intentions.  It  blew  fresh,  and, 
as  the  ship  rounded  to  on  the  Drake's  bow, 
the  anchor  was  not  let  go  at  the  order,  but 
hung  for  a  minute  or  two.  During  this  inter 
val,  the  Ranger  drifted  by  the  Drake,  and 
brought  up  on  her  quarter,  at  half  a  cable's 
length  distance,  instead  of  on  her  bow.  The 
enterprise  of  course  failed  ;  but,  as  every  thing 


60  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

had  been  managed  quietly,  and  as  if  the  Ran 
ger  had  been  a  merchantman,  no  alarm  was 
given  on  board  of  the  Drake.  Moreover,  his 
Majesty's  ships  were  not  perhaps  prepared  for 
such  hardihood  in  their  own  ports.  Jones  de 
termined,  therefore,  to  cut  immediately,  mak 
ing  it  appear  as  if  his  cable  had  parted,  and, 
after  making  a  stretch  or  two  out  of  the  loch, 
to  return  and  repeat  his  hardy  enterprise.  The 
wind,  however,  which  so  often  interferes  with 
projects  of  this  nature,  freshened  rapidly,  and 
soon  blew  a  gale,  so  that  the  Ranger  was 
barely  able,  by  carrying  a  press  of  sail,  to 
work  out  of  the  loch.  The  gale  continuing 
afterwards  to  increase,  and  bringing  on  a 
heavy  sea,  Jones  took  shelter  under  the  south 
coast  of  Scotland. 

The  following  morning,  being  the  22d.  was 
fair  and  mild,  though  the  whole  extent  of  the 
three  kingdoms  was  seen  to  be  covered  with 
snow.  Paul  Jones  determined  now  to  make 
another  effort  to  accomplish  his  projected  at 
tack  on  Whitehaven.  The  lightness  of  the 
wind,  however,  prevented  him  from  approach 
ing  the  town  so  as  to  leave  his  ship  at  so  early 


^Er.30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  61 

an  hour  as  he  had  wished.  It  was  only  at 
midnight  that  he  got  away  from  the  Ranger, 
with  two  boats,  provided  with  combustibles, 
and  containing  thirty-one  officers  and  men,  all 
of  them  being  volunteers.  He  commanded 
the  first  boat  himself,  and  placed  the  other 
under  the  orders  of  Lieutenant  Wallingsford. 
The  tide  was  running  ebb  ;  so  that,  by  the 
time  the  boats  reached  the  outer  pier,  the  day 
had  dawned.  Nevertheless,  Jones  was  deter 
mined  not  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  He 
therefore  directed  Lieutenant  Wallingsford  to 
set  fire  to  the  ships  on  the  north  side  of  the 
harbour,  while  he  charged  himself  with  the 
task  of  destroying  the  rest. 

Jones  estimated  the  number  of  ships  on  the 
north  side  of  the  port  to  amount  to  from  sev 
enty  to  one  hundred  large  ships,  whilst  as 
many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  others,  chiefly 
of  from  two  to  four  hundred  tons,  lay  on  the 
other  side.  The  two  docks  were  only  divid 
ed  from  each  other  by  a  stone  pier.  All  the 
ships  were  aground,  and  there  was  no  water 
alongside  of  them,  to  facilitate  extinguishing 
the  flames.  The  port  was  commanded  by  a 


62  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

couple  of  batteries,  mounting  thirty  pieces  of 
artillery.  Paul  Jones  personally  charged  him 
self  with  the  task  of  securing  these  ;  he  scaled 
the  breastwork  of  that  which  stood  nearest  to 
the  pier,  made  prisoners  of  the  soldiers  whom 
he  found,  the  sentry  included,  very  snug  in  the 
guard-house,  and  spiked  the  guns  ;  and,  having 
posted  sentinels  and  left  the  bulk  of  his  party 
to  fire  the  shipping,  he  went,  attended  by  a 
single  follower,  to  a  fort  which  lay  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  off,  the  guns  of  which  he  also  spik 
ed.  His  object  in  doing  this  was  to  secure  a 
harmless  retreat  for  his  party,  when  the  in 
habitants  should  awake  from  their  panic. 

As  Paul  Jones  returned  towards  the  port, 
he  was  disappointed  at  not  seeing  the  fire 
from  the  ships  on  the  north  side  of  the  port. 
At  the  pier  Jones  met  Lieutenant  Wallings- 
ford,  who  had  returned  without  setting  fire  to 
the  ships  in  the  north  basin.  He  stated,  that 
his  light  had  gone  out  as  he  was  about  to  use 
it ;  and  seemed,  moreover,  to  dislike  the  ser 
vice  on  which  he  had  been  sent.  He  said, 
that  "  nothing  could  be  gained  by  burning 
poor  people's  property."  To  Jones's  great 


vEr.  30.J  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  63 

annoyance,  he  found  that  his  own  immediate 
party,  which  he  had  left  with  directions  to  fire 
the  shipping  in  the  south  basin,  had  been 
equally  inactive  during  his  absence.  In  con 
sequence  of  the  late  hour  to  which  the  expe 
dition  had  been  delayed,  their  candles  had 
also  burnt  out.  The  day,  moreover,  was  be 
ginning  to  dawn,  and  the  inhabitants  to  assem 
ble  in  alarm.  Still,  Jones  was  unwilling  to 
depart  without  effecting  any  thing,  after  all 
the  most  serious  difficulties  had  been  over 
come.  He  again  posted  the  sentinels  which 
he  had  called  in,  to  be  ready  to  depart,  obtain 
ed  a  light  from  a  neighbouring  house,  and  de 
liberately  kindled  a  fire  in  the  steerage  of  a 
large  ship,  which  was  surrounded  by  many 
others,  all  lying  high  and  dry  ashore. 

The  lateness  of  the  hour,  for  the  sun  had 
now  risen,  and  the  assembling  of  the  startled 
inhabitants,  left  no  time  to  kindle  fires  in  oth 
er  ships,  but  Paul  Jones  was  determined  that 
the  one  which  he  had  lighted,  should  not  be 
easily  extinguished.  He  caused  search  to  be 
made  among  the  vessels  for  a  barrel  of  tar, 
which  he  emptied  into  the  flames,  which  soon 


64  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

blazed  up  the  hatchway  and  spread  to  the 
spars  and  rigging.  The  inhabitants  began 
now  to  appear  in  great  numbers,  and,  attracted 
by  the  flames,  to  run  towards  the  pier.  Paul 
Jones  stood  between  them  and  the  ship  on 
fire,  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  ordered 
them  to  retire,  which  he  says  they  did,  with 
precipitation.  The  sun  was  now  an  hour 
high,  and  it  became  necessary  to  bring  this 
daring  enterprise  to  a  close.  There  being  no 
spare  space  in  the  boats,  the  captured  soldiers 
were  released,  with  the  exception  of  three, 
whom  Jones  said  he  "  brought  away  for  a 
sample,"  and  the  party  reembarked.  Jones 
stood  for  a  moment  alone  on  the  pier,  contem 
plating  with  no  little  pride  and  exultation  the 
terror  and  awe  with  which  he  had  impressed 
the  inhabitants  of  this  considerable  town,  who 
stood  gazing  on  him,  with  stupid  and  panic- 
stricken  wonder,  from  the  surrounding  emi 
nences. 

At  length  he  entered  his  boat,  and  rowed 
quietly  out  of  the  harbour.  The  inhabitants 
were  presently  seen  running  in  vast  numbers 
to  their  forts,  and  of  course  found  no  means  of 


^Er.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  65 

venting  their  rage,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
Jones,  who  had  himself  spiked  the  guns.  Not 
long  after,  however,  they  began  to  fire,  from 
what  Jones  supposed  to  be  some  ship  guns. 
But  the  shot  fell  short,  and  the  direction  was 
so  ridiculously  wild,  that  the  sailors  amused 
themselves  by  firing  back  with  their  pistols. 
Jones  now  discovered  that  one  of  his  men  had 
been  left  behind,  and  expressed  a  fear  in  his 
report,  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  It  afterwards  appeared,  that  this  man, 
who  was  borne  on  the  Rangers  books  as  Da 
vid  Smith,  but  who  was  known  in  Whiteha- 
ven  as  David  Freeman,  had  not  only  volunta 
rily  abandoned  his  party,  but  gave  information, 
in  various  houses  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
piers,  of  the  character  and  object  of  the  expe 
dition.  In  consequence  of  the  statement  made 
by  this  man,  whom  the  newspaper  of  the  day 
pronounced  the  saviour  of  Whitehaven,  the  in 
habitants  so  far  recovered  their  presence  of 
mind,  as  to  rally  for  the  preservation  of  the 
shipping,  of  which  only  the  ship  fired  by  Paul 
Jones  was  probably  destroyed.  He  was  sadly 
disappointed  at  the  result,  after  his  plan  had 

VOL.    I.  5 


66  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

been  so  well  matured,  and  had  so  far  succeed 
ed.  He  was  well  justified  in  drawing  the 
conclusion,  in  his  written  report  of  what  had 
happened,  that,  if  he  had  got  on  shore  a  few 
hours  sooner,  his  success  would  have  been 
complete  ;  that  not  a  single  ship  out  of  more 
than  two  hundred,  nor  even  the  town  itself, 
could  probably  have  escaped.  He  consoled 
himself  as  best  he  could,  with  the  reflection, 
that  enough  had  been  done  to  show  the  Eng 
lish,  "  that  not  all  their  boasted  navy  could 
protect  their  own  coasts,  and  that  the  scenes 
of  distress,  which  they  have  occasioned  in 
America,  might  soon  be  brought  home  to  their 
own  doors."  Even  with  the  disadvantage  of 
having  arrived  at  the  pier  of  Whitehaven  at  so 
late  an  hour,  Jones  was  under  the  impression 
that  he  should  still  have  succeeded,  but  for  the 
scruples  of  the  "  wise  officer,"  to  whom  he 
had  intrusted  the  service  of  firing  the  ships  in 
the  north  basin,  and  who  had  entertained  him 
with  the  ill-timed  moralizing  as  to  the  inexpe 
diency  of  "burning  poor  people's  property." 
As  poor  Wallingsford,  the  "  wise  officer  "  al 
luded  to,  fell  in  battle  the  following  day,  it 


^ET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  67 

would  have  been  generous  in  Jones  to  have 
spared  his  sarcasm,  and,  while  dispensing  mer 
ited  censure  for  disobedience  of  orders,  to  have 
stated  that  Wallingsford's  fault  was  nobly  re 
deemed  by  his  dying  in  defence  of  his  coun 
try.  It  is  creditable  to  Jones's  humanity,  that 
he  mentions,  as  a  gratifying  circumstance, 
that  in  the  course  of  this  well  contrived  and 
most  coolly  executed  service,  not  one  of  his 
own  men  or  of  the  enemy  was  either  killed  or 
wounded. 

Few  naval  enterprises  exhibit  a  character 
of  greater  daring  and  originality  than  this  de 
scent  on  Whitehaven.  The  hardihood  with 
which  it  was  conceived,  and  the  imperturba 
ble  coolness  with  which  it  was  executed,  can- 
riot  be  surpassed.  As  to  the  propriety  of  at 
tempting  to  destroy  such  an  amount  of  private 
property,  it  was  amply  justified,  as  it  was  pro 
voked  and  occasioned,  by  the  burnings  and  de 
vastations  of  the  British  on  our  own  coasts. 
Still  the  author  cannot  coincide  with  such  of 
his  countrymen  as  have  commended  Jones  for 
volunteering  to  be  the  agent  of  this  retribu 
tion.  The  scheme  was  wholly  his  own  ;  he 


68  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

selected  the  scene,  choosing  for  the  purpose 
the  familiar  haunts  of  his  boyhood  and  matur- 
er  years.  Had  he  succeeded  in  his  wish  of 
destroying  the  whole  shipping  of  the  port  of 
Whitehaven,  out  of  which  he  had  so  long  sail 
ed,  where  he  had  obtained  promotion,  and  ne 
cessarily  received  kindness,  he  must  have  in 
volved  shipmates,  employers,  and  benefactors 
in  one  common  ruin.  He  had  a  mother  and 
sisters  living  in  security  in  the  neighbourhood, 
whose  position  must  have  been  prejudiced  by 
such  wholesale  desolation,  perpetrated  by  a 
son  and  brother.  It  cannot  be  forgotten,  that 
Paul  Jones  had  continued  his  associations  with 
his  home  and  family,  until  long  after  he  ar 
rived  at  manhood  ;  his  connexion  with  Amer 
ica  was  only  of  five  years'  standing,  whilst 
it  was  less  than  three  since  he  took  up  arms 
in  behalf  of  the  colonies.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  his  boasted  "  principles  of  philan 
thropy,"  and  desire  to  support  "the  dignity  of 
human  nature,"  hardly  justify  such  rancorous 
hatred  of  his  native  land.  It  has  been  said, 
that  Paul  Jones  alone,  on  account  of  his  famil 
iarity  with  the  localities,  could  have  attempted 


LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  69 

this  project  with  any  prospect  of  success.     If 
so,  it  had  better  been  omitted  altogether. 

On  reaching  the  Ranger,  Jones  stood  over 
to  the  Scotch  shore,  every  foot  of  which  in 
this  neighbourhood  had  been  familiar  to  him 
from  his  earliest  years.  He  had  conceived 
the  project  of  endeavouring  to  get  possession 
of  the  person  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  who  had 
an  estate  near  Kirkcudbright,  on  a  beautiful 
wooded  promontory,  which  makes  out  into  the 
river  Dee,  about  a  mile  below  the  town,  and 
is  known  as  St.  Mary's  Isle.  Jones  thought 
that  the  possession  of  this  nobleman's  person 
might  be  rendered  useful  in  an  exchange  for 
some  distinguished  American  prisoner,  and  in 
bringing  about  a  general  system  of  exchanges, 
to  which  England  had  hitherto  shown  a  re- 

O 

luctance. 

With  this  motive  Jones  now  stood  bold 
ly  into  Kirkcudbright  bay,  and  started  with 
a  single  boat  on  this  extraordinary  errand. 
Landing  on  St.  Mary's  Isle,  he  was  informed 
by  some  men  whom  he  met  as  he  was  pro 
ceeding  towards  the  house,  that  Lord  Selkirk 
was  absent  from  home.  According  to  his  own 


70  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

account,  he  was  about  to  return  to  his  boat,  on 
hearing  this  information,  but  some  of  his  offi 
cers  expressed  a  great  desire  to  take  away  the 
family  plate,  in  conformity  with  the  universal 
custom  of  the  English  on  our  coast.  Jones 
seems  to  have  yielded  reluctantly  to  the  dis 
contented  muttering  of  his  officers,  in  giving 
them  permission  to  seize  the  plate.  He  did 
not  like  the  errand,  as  he  did  not  go  upon  it 
himself;  and  he  charged  Simpson,  his  first 
lieutenant,  who  accompanied  him  on  this  oc 
casion,  to  perform  the  service  with  all  possible 
delicacy.  Paul  Jones  remained  on  the  shore, 
while  Simpson  went  to  the  house  with  the 
boat's  crew,  armed  with  cutlasses  and  pistols. 
On  reaching  the  house,  they  were  taken  for  a 
press  gang,  or  the  crew  of  a  revenue  cutter. 
Lady  Selkirk,  who  happened  to  be  at  home, 
sent  a  servant  to  ask  their  business  and  offer 
them  refreshment.  The  first  thing,  that  ex 
cited  suspicion,  was  the  officers'  rejecting  the 
whiskey  which  was  offered  to  them,  and  call 
ing  for  wine.  Simpson  now  went  into  the 
house,  accompanied  by  another  officer,  and 
stated  his  errand  to  Lady  Selkirk.  The  break- 


J£r.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  71 

fast  things  were  not  yet  removed,  and  the  tea 
pot  was  emptied  and  sent  away,  together  with 
the  rest  of  the  plate,  which  the  butler  busied 
himself  in  collecting.  No  violence  or  incivil 
ity  was  offered  to  any  one,  and  the  party,  hav 
ing  fulfilled  its  errand,  withdrew.  Meanwhile 
Paul  Jones  strolled  under  the  noble  oaks  and 
chestnuts,  that  adorn  St.  Mary's  Isle,  with  re 
flections,  which  his  sudden  return  among 
scenes  so  attractive,  where  every  object  was  so 
familiar  to  him,  must  have  strangely  blended 
with  exultation  and  with  pain.  That  he  did 
not  approve  of  the  abstraction  of  this  silver, 
was  afterwards  made  evident  by  the  earnest 
ness  with  which  he  labored  for  its  restoration. 
When  the  party  arrived  at  the  boat,  he  re 
gained  his  ship,  and  stood  out  into  the  chan 
nel. 

As  for  the  worthy  burghers  of  Kirkcud 
bright,  when  they  heard  of  the  outrage  that 
had  been  perpetrated  in  their  immediate  neigh 
bourhood,  nothing  could  equal  their  conster 
nation.  The  town  affords  no  eminence  from 
which  a  view  of  the  enemy  could  be  obtained, 
and  the  danger  became  all  the  more  terrifying 


72  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

from  being  unseen.  The  people  ran  hither 
and  thither  in  search  of  a  place  of  safety  for 
themselves  and  their  valuables,  and  were  com 
pletely  at  their  wits'  end.  After  the  consterna 
tion  had  been  abated  by  the  arrival  of  intelli 
gence  of  the  disappearance  of  the  cruiser,  the 
more  heroic  seized  upon  a  venerable  twenty- 
four  pounder,  and  dragged  it  down  to  the  beach 
of  St.  Mary's  Isle.  There  they  watched  dur 
ing  the  night,  until  one  of  the  number  cried  out 
that  he  saw  the  enemy's  ship.  The  gun  was 
pointed  and  fired,  and  so  kept  hotly  exercised 
during  the  night.  When  the  day  dawned,  the 
valiant  burghers  were  overwhelmed  with  mor 
tification  at  discovering,  that  they  had  been 
venting  their  prowess  upon  an  invulnerable 
rock  which  stood  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  land. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th'  of  April,  Paul 
Jones  was  again  off  Carrickfergus,  on  the  look 
out  for  the  Drake,  which  he  had  the  extreme 
satisfaction  to  see  coming  out  of  the  harbour. 
The  wind  being  light,  the  Drake's  boat  was 
sent  out  ahead  to  obtain  information  concern 
ing  the  Ranger,  intelligence  of  her  proceed- 


YET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  73 

ings  at  Whitehaven  and  Kirkcudbright  having 
already  been  received  at  Belfast.  The  Ran 
ger's  stern  was  kept  towards  the  boat,  so  as 
to  conceal  her  character,  which  so  far  suc 
ceeded,  that  the  boat  came  within  hail  with 
out  suspicion.  On  reaching  the  Ranger's 
deck,  the  officer  of  the  boat  found  himself  a 
prisoner.  Paul  Jones  now  learned,  that,  in 
telligence  having  been  received  the  evening 
before  from  Whitehaven  of  the  Ranger's  pro 
ceedings,  the  Drake  was  coming  in  pursuit 
of  her,  with  a  large  number  of  volunteers  on 
board,  making  her  crew  amount  in  all  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men.  Alarm  smokes  were 
now  seen  rising  from  various  points,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Channel. 

The  Drake  had  to  encounter  a  strong  tide 
setting  into  Belfast  Lough,  and  worked  out 
very  slowly.  She  was  accompanied  by  five 
small  vessels,  filled  with  people,  who  were 
desirous  of  beholding  the  approaching  engage 
ment.  As  they  got  nearer  the  Ranger,  and 
the  day  was  closing,  they  wisely  put  back 
without  satisfying  their  curiosity.  To  bring 
the  matter  sooner  to  an  issue,  the  Ranger  ran 


74  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

down  towards  her  antagonist,  and  hauling  up 
her  courses,  lay  to  with  her  main-topsail  to 
her  mast.  At  length  the  Drake  made  her  last 
tack,  and  stretched  out  of  the  lough.  The 
Ranger  now  filled  away,  and  ran  out  into  mid- 
channel,  followed  by  the  Drake,  which  now 
came  within  hail.  Both  ships  wore  their  na 
tional  colors.  As  the  Drake  came  up  astern 
of  the  Ranger,  she  hailed  and  asked  v/hat  ship 
it  was.  Paul  Jones  directed  his  sailing-master 
to  reply,  "  The  American  Continental  ship 
Ranger !  we  are  waiting  for  you  !  come  on  !  " 
At  this  time  the  sun  was  little  more  than  an 
hour  high. 

Paul  Jones  now  ordered  his  helm  put  up, 
and  sheering  across  the  enemy's  bow,  poured 
in  the  first  broadside  ;  the  fire  was  returned 
with  equal  energy,  so  soon  as  the  enemy  could 
imitate  the  manoeuvre,  and,  as  the  two  ships 
ran  broadside  and  broadside,  was  kept  up  ob 
stinately  at  close  cjuarters  for  more  than  an 
hour,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  Drake  was 
very  much  cut  up.  Her  fore  and  main  topsail 
ties  were  shot  away,  and  the  yards  came  down 
on  the  cap  ;  the  foretop-gallant  yard  and  miz- 


^ET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JOjNES.  75 

zen  gaft  hung  up  and  down  the  masts,  her  en 
sign  towing  overboard  astern  from  the  gaft, 
and  her  jib-stay  was  shot  away  so  that  the  sail 
hung  in  the  water.  Her  sails  and  rigging 
were  much  cut  up,  many  of  her  spars  badly 
wounded,  and  her  hull  much  shattered.  When 
the  action  had  continued  an  hour  and  four 
minutes,  the  Captain  of  the  Drake  received  a 
musket  ball  in  his  head,  immediately  after 
which  the  crew  called  for  quarter,  and  the  ac 
tion  ceased.  The  Drake  was  found  to  have 
lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  no  fewer  than 
forty-two  of  her  company.  Captain  Burden, 
her  commander,  lived,  and  continued  sensible, 
a  few  moments  after  the  Drake  was  boarded. 
The  first  lieutenant  was  also  severely  wound 
ed,  and  died  on  the  second  day  after  the  ac 
tion.  Both  were  subsequently  buried  with  the 
honors  of  war.  The  loss  of  the  Ranger  was 
comparatively  very  inconsiderable,  Lieutenant 
Wallingsford  and  one  seaman  being  killed,  and 
six  wounded,  one  of  whom  afterwards  died. 
The  weather  being  moderate  during  the  night 
and  following  day,  the  business  of  repairing 
damages  was  soon  accomplished.  Among  the 


76  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

trophies  of  the  victory  was  the  anchor  which 
the  Ranger  had  dropped  in  Belfast  Lough, 
and  which  the  Drake  had  taken  up.  In  esti 
mating  the  brilliancy  of  this  victory,  it  is 
necessary  to  take  into  consideration  not  only 
that  the  Drake  was  of  superior  force  to  the 
Ranger  by  two  guns,  and  in  a  still  greater 
proportion  with  regard  to  her  crew,  bat  also 
that  the  Drake  belonged  to  a  rogularly  estab 
lished  navy,  whose  ships  were  everywhere  ac 
customed  to  conquer,  whilst  the  equipping 
of  the  Ranger  was  among  the  earliest  efforts 
of  a  new  and  imperfectly  organized  service. 
The  result  was  eminently  due  to  the  skill 
and  courage  of  Jones,  and  his  inflexible  deter 
mination  to  conquer.  This  was  first,  though 
unsuccessfully,  made  manifest,  in  the  dashing 
attempt  to  carry  the  Drake  while  at  anchor  in 
Belfast  Lough,  than  which  few  naval  concep 
tions  could  be  more  brilliant.  It  only  failed 
through  the  anchor's  not  being  let  go  at  the 
proper  instant.  The  result,  however,  was  but 
the  more  glorious  to  the  American  arms;  as 
the  Drake  was  subsequently  compelled  to 
yield  after  a  sanguinary  engagement,  which 


MT.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JOJNES.  77 

she  sought  with  every  possible  preparation  and 
confidence  of  victory,  in  the  presence,  too,  of 
the  three  kingdoms. 

Paul  Jones  had  intended  returning  out  of 
the  Irish  Sea  by  St.  George's  Channel  j  but, 
the  wind  being  ahead  to  run  in  that  direction, 
he  bore  up  and  ran  to  the  northward.  In  pas 
sing  the  Lough  of  Belfast  he  released  the  fish 
ermen,  whom  he  had  detained  on  his  first  ap 
pearance  off  the  Lough  five  days  before.  As 
their  boat  had  been  swamped  and  lost  while 
in  tow  of  the  Ranger,  he  gave  them  another 
to  reach  the  shore  in,  and  money  to  replace 
whatever  they  had  lost.  He  also  sent  with 
them  two  infirm  persons,  taken  in  one  of  his 
prizes,  to  whom  he  gave  his  last  guinea  to  de 
fray  their  travelling  expenses  to  their  home  in 
Dublin.  He  says,  that  "the  grateful  Irishmen 
were  enraptured,  and  expressed  their  joy  in 
three  huzzas  as  they  passed  the  Rangers 
quarter." 

The  two  ships  now  stood  out  of  the  Chan 
nel,  and  rounding  the  north  coast  of  Ireland, 
ran  down  on  the  western  side.  Nothing  of 
note  happened,  until  the  5th  of  May,  when, 


78  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

the  Ranger  being  off  Ushant,  and  having  the 
Drake  in  tow,  a  strange  sail  was  seen,  to 
which,  having  cut  the  hawser,  Paul  Jones  gave 
chase.  In  the  mean  time,  Lieutenant  Simp 
son,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the 
Drake,  instead  of  continuing  his  course  to 
wards  Brest  in  conformity  with  his  orders, 
steered  off  to  the  southward,  so  that  when 
Paul  Jones  had  overhauled  the  chase,  the 
Drake  was  nearly  out  of  sight.  The  same 
eccentric  evolutions,  having  apparently  for  ob 
ject  to  part  company  with  the  Ranger,  contin 
ued  during  the  day,  to  Jones's  great  annoyance, 
as  it  prevented  him  from  chasing  many  vessels 
that  were  seen  standing  into  the  Channel,  from 
among  which  he  hoped  to  have  made  some 
valuable  prizes.  When  Jones  was  at  length 
able  to  overtake  his  wandering  lieutenant,  he 
placed  him  under  arrest,  and  conferred  the 
command  on  Lieutenant  Elijah  Hall.  From 
this  circumstance,  and  the  precise  character  of 
Simpson,  Jones  was  yet  destined  to  derive  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  On  the  Sth  of  May, 
both  vessels  arrived  safely  at  Brest,  on  which 
very  day,  Paul  Jones  hastened  to  indite  and 


iEr.  30.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  79 

send  off  triplicate  copies  of  the  following  ro 
mantic  epistle  to  Lady  Selkirk,  which,  as  it 
tells  its  own  tale,  and  is  illustrative  of  his  feel 
ings  and  character,  we  will  introduce  without 
further  commentary. 

"  Madam,  —  It  cannot  be  too  much  lament 
ed,  that,  in  the  profession  of  arms,  the  officer 
of  fine  feelings  and  real  sensibility  should  be 
under  the  necessity  of  winking  at  any  action 
of  persons  under  his  command,  which  his  heart 
cannot  approve  ;  but  the  reflection  is  doubly 
severe,  when  he  finds  himself  obliged,  in  ap 
pearance,  to  countenance  such  actions  by  his 
authority.  This  hard  case  was  mine,  when, 
on  the  23d  of  April  last,  I  landed  on  St. 
Mary's  Isle.  Knowing  Lord  Selkirk's  inter 
est  with  his  King,  and  esteeming  as  I  do  his 
private  character,  I  wished  to  make  him  the 
happy  instrument  of  alleviating  the  horrors  of 
hopeless  captivity,  when  the  brave  are  over 
powered  and  made  prisoners  of  war.  It  was 
perhaps  fortunate  for  you,  Madam,  that  he  was 
from  home  ;  for  it  was  my  intention  to  have 
taken  him  on  board  the  Ranger,  arid  detained 
him  until,  through  his  means,  a  general  and 


80  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

fair  exchange  of  prisoners,  as  well  in  Europe 
as  in  America,  had  been  effected. 

"  When  I  was  informed,  by  some  men 
whom  I  met  at  landing,  that  his  Lordship  was 
absent,  I  walked  back  to  my  boat,  determined 
to  leave  the  island.  By  the  way,  however, 
some  officers  who  were  with  me,  could  not 
forbear  expressing  their  discontent,  observing 
that  in  America  no  delicacy  was  shown  by 
the  English,  who  took  away  all  sorts  of  mov 
able  property,  setting  fire  not  only  to  towns 
and  to  the  houses  of  the  rich,  without  distinc 
tion,  but  not  even  sparing  the  wretched  ham 
lets  and  milch-cows  of  the  poor  and  helpless, 
at  the  approach  of  an  inclement  winter.  That 
party  had  been  with  me  the  same  morning  at 
Whitehaven ;  some  complaisance,  therefore, 
was  their  due.  I  had  but  a  moment  to  think 
how  I  might  gratify  them,  and  at  the  same 
time  do  your  Ladyship  the  least  injury.  I 
charged  the  officers  to  permit  none  of  the  sea 
men  to  enter  the  house,  or  to  hurt  any  thing 
about  it ;  to  treat  you,  Madam,  with  the  ut 
most  respect ;  to  accept  of  the  plate  which 
was  offered,  and  to  come  away  without  mak- 


jEr.30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  81 

ing  a  search,  or  demanding  any  thing  else.  I 
am  induced  to  believe  that  I  was  punctually 
obeyed,  since  I  am  informed  that  the  plate 
which  they  brought  away  is  far  short  of  the 
quantity  expressed  in  the  inventory  which  ac 
companied  it.  I  have  gratified  my  men  ;  and 
when  the  plate  is  sold,  I  shall  become  the  pur 
chaser,  and  will  gratify  my  own  feelings,  by 
restoring  it  to  you  by  such  conveyance  as  you 
shall  please  to  direct. 

"  Had  the  Earl  been  on  board  the  Ranger 
the  following  evening,  he  would  have  seen 
the  awful  pomp  and  dreadful  carnage  of  a  sea 
engagement;  both  affording  ample  subject  for 
the  pencil,  as  well  as  melancholy  reflection  for 
the  contemplative  mind.  Humanity  starts 
back  from  such  scenes  of  horror,  and  cannot 
sufficiently  execrate  the  vile  promoters  of  this 
detestable  war. 

'  For  they,  't  was  they  unsheathed  the  ruthless  blade, 
And  Heaven  shall  ask  the  havoc  it  has  made.' 

"  The  British  ship  of  war  Drake,  mount 
ing  twenty  guns,  with  more  than  her  full  com 
plement  of  officers  and  men,  was  our  opponent. 
The  ships  met,  and  the  advantage  was  disput- 

VOL.     I.  6 


82  LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

ed  with  great  fortitude  on  each  side  for  an 
hour  and  four  minutes,  when  the  gallant  com 
mander  of  the  Drake  fell,  and  victory  declar 
ed  in  favor  of  the  Ranger.  The  amiable 
lieutenant  lay  mortally  wounded,  besides  near 
forty  of  the  inferior  officers  and  crew  killed 
and  wounded  ;  a  melancholy  demonstration 
of  the  uncertainty  of  human  prospects,  and 
of  the  sad  reverses  of  fortune,  which  an  hour 
can  produce.  I  buried  them  in  a  spacious 
grave,  with  the  honors  due  to  the  memory  of 
the  brave. 

"  Though  I  have  drawn  my  sword  in  the 
present  generous  struggle  for  the  rights  of 
men,  yet  I  am  not  in  arms  as  an  American, 
nor  am  I  in  pursuit  of  riches.  My  fortune  is 
liberal  enough,  having  no  wife  nor  family,  and 
having  lived  long  enough  to  know  that  riches 
cannot  secure  happiness.  I  profess  myself  a 
citizen  of  the  world,  totally  unfettered  by  the 
little  mean  distinctions  of  climate  or  of  country, 
which  diminish  the  benevolence  of  the  heart 
and  set  bounds  to  philanthropy.  Before  this 
war  was  begun,  I  had,  at  an  early  time  of  life, 
withdrawn  from  sea  service  in  favor  of  'calm 


^ET.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  83 

contemplation  and  poetic  ease.'  I  have  sacri 
ficed  not  only  my  favorite  scheme  of  life,  but 
the  softer  affections  of  the  heart,  and  my  pros 
pects  of  domestic  happiness,  and  I  am  ready 
to  sacrifice  my  life  also  with  cheerfulness,  if 
that  forfeiture  could  restore  peace  among  man 
kind. 

"  As  the  feelings  of  your  gentle  bosom  can 
not  but  be  congenial  with  mine,  let  me  entreat 
you,  Madam,  to  use  your  persuasive  art  with 
your  husband,  to  endeavour  to  stop  this  cruel 
and  destructive  war,  in  which  Britain  can  never 
succeed.  Heaven  can  never  countenance  the 
barbarous  and  unmanly  practice  of  the  Britons 
in  America,  which  savages  would  blush  at, 
and  which,  if  not  discontinued,  will  soon  be 
retaliated  on  Britain  by  a  justly  enraged  people. 
Should  you  fail  in  this,  and  I  am  persuaded 
you  will  attempt  it,  (and  who  can  resist  the 
power  of  such  an  advocate  ?)  your  endeavours 
to  effect  a  general  exchange  of  prisoners  will 
be  an  act  of  humanity,  which  will  afford  you 
golden  feelings  on  your  death-bed. 

11 1  hope  this  cruel  contest  will  soon  be  clos 
ed  ;  but,  should  it  continue,  I  wage  no  war 


84  LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

with  the  fair.  I  acknowledge  their  force,  and 
bend  before  it  with  submission.  Let  not, 
therefore,  the  amiable  Countess  of  Selkirk  re 
gard  me  as  an  enemy  ;  I  am  ambitious  of  her 
esteem  and  friendship,  and  would  do  any 
thing,  consistent  with  my  duty,  to  merit  it. 
The  honor  of  a  line  from  your  hand,  in  answer 
to  this,  will  lay  me  under  a  singular  obliga 
tion  ;  and  if  I  can  render  you  any  acceptable 
service  in  France  or  elsewhere,  I  hope  you  see 
into  my  character  so  far  as  to  command  me, 
without  the  least  grain  of  reserve.  I  wish  to 
know  the  exact  behaviour  of  my  people,  as  I 
am  determined  to  punish  them  if  they  have 
exceeded  their  liberty." 

This  is  a  very  odd  letter ;  but  even  making 
all  due  allowance  for  the  effort  at  effect,  and 
the  desire  to  touch  the  "  gentle  bosom  "  of  his 
fair  correspondent,  it  is  still  conceived  in  a 
generous  and  kindly  spirit,  creditable  to  the 
feelings  of  the  writer.  In  the  fulfilment  of 
his  promise  to  return  the  plate,  Jones  was  des 
tined  to  encounter  a  due  share  of  those  diffi 
culties  and  annoyances,  which,  in  small  mat 
ters  as  in  great,  it  was  his  fortune  to  meet 


jET.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  85 

with,  and  his  pleasure  to  overcome.  The 
plate  having  passed  into  the  hands  of  prize- 
agents  on  the  arrival  of  the  Ranger  at  Brest, 
it  was  rescued  with  infinite  difficulty  and  de 
lay,  and  did  not  eventually  reach  England  un 
til  many  years  afterward,  when  it  was  all  safe 
ly  returned  in  the  condition  in  which  it  was 
taken  away,  even  the  tea  leaves  remaining  in 
the  tea-pot.  Jones  made  the  return  of  this 
plate  the  fertile  subject  of  a  voluminous  cor 
respondence,  having  written  two  more  letters 
to  his  "  amiable  Countess,"  and  several  to 
Franklin,  the  Count  of  Vergennes,  and  others 
whom  he  found  occasion  to  interest  in  the 
subject.  He  was  naturally  enough  disappoint 
ed  in  the  expected  "honor  of  a  line  from  the 
hand"  of  the  Countess,  who  responded  through 
her  husband.  The  Earl  at  first  consent 
ed  to  accept  the  plate,  if  it  were  restored  by 
order  of  Congress,  but  scrupled  to  receive  it 
if  its  restoration  were  due  to  the  generosity  of 
an  individual.  These  scruples  were  eventual 
ly  overcome  ;  the  plate  was  recovered  and  re 
turned  at  Jones's  expense,  and  accepted  with 
thanks  by  the  Earl,  and  a  tardy  acknowledg- 


86  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

merit  of  the  courteous  behaviour  of  the  Ran 
ger's  crew  when  they  landed  on  St.  Mary's 
Isle.  This  whole  matter  is  strikingly  illustra 
tive  of  Jones's  ingenuity  in  creating  difficul 
ties  in  his  own  path,  and  his  obstinate  energy 
in  overcoming  them.  The  plate  was  taken 
by  Jones's  order,  as  we  see  by  the  letter  to  the 
Countess  of  Selkirk,  and  not,  as  Mr.  Cooper 
in  his  naval  history  intimates,  by  an  inferior 
officer  on  his  own  responsibility.  It  was 
scarcely  on  board,  however,  before  he  began 
to  busy  himself  about  the  task  of  returning  it, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  we  find  him 
writing  his  letter  to  the  Countess,  the  ultimate 
result  of  which  was  the  restoration  of  the 
plate,  after  an  interval  of  seven  or  eight  years. 


.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  87 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Effect  of  Jones's  Exploits.  —  His  Letter  of  Credit  dishonored. 

—  Difficulties  for  Want  of  Money.  —  Contention  with  Simpson. 

—  Simpson   imprisoned.  —  Cause  of  Disagreement. —  Care  of 
Prisoners.  —  Franklin's  Views  for  the  Employment  of  the  Ran 
ger. —  Jones's  Views  in  Reply.  —  Asks  for  the  Indien.  —  Offer  of 
the  Indien  by  the  French  Government. — Jones    proceeds   to 
Paris.  —  Offers  his  Services  to  France.  —  Project  for  intercept 
ing  the  Baltic  Fleet.  —  It  fails.  —  Gives  up  the  Command  of  the 
Ranger  to  Simpson.  —  Repents  having  done  so.  —  The  Ranger 
sails  for  America. 

THE  Ranger's   arrival   at  Brest,  from  this 

O  ' 

daring  cruise  in  the  Irish  Channel,  with  the 
Drake  in  company  as  her  prize,  and  two  hun 
dred  prisoners,  being  nearly  double  the  num 
ber  of  her  own  crew,  was  greeted  with  lively 
demonstrations  of  joy  by  the  American  Com 
missioners,  to  whom  Paul  Jones  hastened  to 
make  the  circumstances  known  in  an  able  re 
port,  in  which  the  events  of  his  cruise  were 
most  vividly  described.  The  French  Court, 
which  was  on  the  eve  of  joining  our  cause, 
shared  heartily  in  the  gratulation  which  the 
circumstances  were  so  well  suited  to  awaken. 
The  exploits  of  Paul  Jones  had  been  conceiv- 


88  LIFE   OF   PAUL  JOJNES.  [1778. 

ed  and  executed  in  the  highest  spirit  of  naval 
enterprise,  in  sight  of  the  three  kingdoms,  and 
within  the  very  strong-hold  of  British  power. 
England  was  thus  taught  the  wholesome  les 
son,  that  her  burnings  on  our  coast  could  be 
retaliated  upon  her  at  home,  and  that  so  far 
from  being  everywhere  supreme  upon  the 
seas,  her  merchant  ships  were  no  longer  safe 
within  her  docks,  though  protected  by  the 
presence  of  a  large  population  and  formidable 
batteries.  Even  her  men-of-war  were  liable 
to  be  assailed  within  her  own  roadsteads,  to 
owe  their  safety  to  accident,  and  finally  to  be 
obliged  to  yield  in  fair  conflict  with  an  infe 
rior  force.  For  these  brilliant  results,  Paul 
Jones  received  the  commendations  which  he 
so  richly  merited,  and  to  the  value  of  which 
he  was  ever  sensitively  alive.  Enviable,  how 
ever,  as  his  position  at  this  moment  might 
seem,  he  soon  found  himself  involved  in  a  se 
ries  of  annoying  difficulties. 

Of  these  difficulties,  the  first  was  the  dis 
honoring  of  a  draft  for  twenty-four  thousand 
livres,  which  he  had  drawn  on  the  Commis 
sioners,  for  the  purpose  of  refitting  and  provis- 


JEr.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  89 

ioning  the  Ranger  and  the  Drake,  and  sup 
plying  the  officers  and  crew  with  a  portion  of 
their  arrears  of  pay.  The  principal  motive  of 
the  Commissioners,  in  dishonoring  this  draft, 
was  no  doubt  the  straitened  condition  of  the 
funds  intrusted  to  them  ;  nor  had  they  au 
thorized  Jones  to  draw  for  so  large  an  amount. 
He  complained  bitterly  of  this  treatment,  in 
asmuch  as  he  had  not  made  use  of  the  letter 
of  credit,  given  to  him  several  months  before, 
for  half  the  sum  which  he  now  drew  for.  He 
also  considered  the  grievance  augmented  by 
the  fact  of  his  being  fifteen  hundred  pounds 
in  advance  to  the  government,  for  the  payment 
of  the  crews  of  the  Alfred  and  the  Providence, 
before  he  left  America.  This  fact  was  known 
to  Mr.  Arthur  Lee,  one  of  the  Commissioners, 
but  not  to  the  other  two.  At  any  rate,  they 
had  no  funds  for  the  payment  of  such  a  bal 
ance,  and  Jones  would  have  done  better  to 
have  first  drawn  for  the  sum  which  he  had 
credit  for,  and  then  waited  until  the  credit  could 
be  extended.  He  must  have  known  enough  of 
the  financial  difficulties  of  Congress,  and  of 
the  Commissioners,  to  have  put  him  on  his 


90  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

guard  against  calling   on  them  too   suddenly 
for  the  payment  of  any  considerable  sum. 

Whether  Jones  were  censurable  or  not  in 
this  transaction,  it  involved  him  in  great  trou 
ble.  In  speaking  of  his  position  at  this  mo 
ment,  he  said,  "  I  was  left,  with  two  hun 
dred  prisoners  of  war,  a  number  of  sick  and 
wounded,  an  almost  naked  crew,  and  a  ship, 
after  a  severe  engagement,  in  want  of  stores 
and  provisions,  from  the  9th  of  May  till  the 
13th  of  June,  destitute  of  any  public  support." 
In  writing  to  the  Commissioners,  he  thus  de 
scribes  the  emergency  in  which  he  was  placed; 
"  I  know  not  where  to  find  to-morrow's  dinner 
for  the  great  number  of  mouths  that  depend 
on  me  for  food.  Are  the  Continental  ships  of 
war  to  depend  on  the  sale  of  their  prizes  for  a 
daily  dinner  to  their  men  ?  Publish  it  not  in 
Gath  !  "  How  he  extricated  himself  from 
this  painful  dilemma  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  passage  of  his  Journal  for  the  King ; 
"  Yet  during  that  time,  by  his  personal  credit 
with  Count  D'Orvilliers,  the  Duke  de  Char- 
tres,  and  the  Intendant  of  Brest,  he  fed  his 


JE-T.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  91 

people  and  prisoners,  cured  his  wounded,  and 
refitted  both  the  Ranger  and  Drake  for  sea." 
Owing  to  this  want  of  funds  to  distribute 
among  the  sailors  of  the  Ranger,  and  the  de 
lay  in  realizing  the  proceeds  of  their  prizes, 
they  became  exceedingly  discontented.  Their 
discontent,  too,  was  artfully  augmented  by 
Lieutenant  Simpson,  who,  as  Jones  states  in  his 
Journal  for  the  King,  while  under  arrest  on 
board  the  Drake,  had  constant  intercourse 
with  the  crew,  and  rendered  them  so  insolent, 
that  they  refused  duty,  and  went  below  re 
peatedly  before  the  Captain's  face.  Count 
D'Orvilliers  had  assured  Paul  Jones,  that,  un 
less  he  could  get  the  Drake  ready  to  transport 
the  prisoners  to  America  before  orders  arriv 
ed  from  Court,  they  would  in  all  probability 
be  given  up  without  an  exchange,  to  avoid 
immediate  war  with  England.  It  thus  be 
came  impossible  to  suffer  Simpson  to  remain 
any  longer  among  the  crew.  He  was  there 
fore  removed  to  a  ship,  in  which  the  French 
confined  their  officers  when  under  arrest. 
Here  Simpson  had  good  accommodations,  and 
liberty  to  walk  the  deck.  Nevertheless  he 


92  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

endeavoured  to  desert,  and  behaved  so  extrav 
agantly,  that  Count  D'Orvilliers,  without  con 
sulting  Jones,  ordered  him  to  prison. 

This  Simpson  was  a  very  troublesome  per 
son,  though  it  is  difficult  at  this  time  to  say 
whether  the  fault  lay  entirely  with  him  or 
partly  with  Jones.  It  appears  that  there  had 
been  constant  disagreement  betiveen  the  com 
mander  and  his  first  lieutenant,  and  the  latter 
was  charged  with  insubordination  himself,  and 
with  exciting  the  crew  to  discontent.  Jones 
relates  in  his  Journal  for  the  King,  that  when 
he  wras  about  to  engage  the  Drake,  "  the  lieu 
tenant  having  held  up  to  the  crew,  that,  being 
Americans  fighting  for  liberty,  the  voice  of  the 
people  should  be  taken  before  the  Captain's  or 
ders  were  obeyed,  they  rose  in  mutiny  ;  and 
Captain  Jones  was  in  the  utmost  danger  of 
being  killed  or  thrown  overboard."  This  was 
an  offence,  which  would  have  justified  the 
commander  in  putting  Simpson  to  immediate 
death.  Yet  Jones  nowhere  states  this  circum 
stance  in  his  report  of  the  cruise  for  the  Com 
missioners,  though  he  mentions  having  arrest 
ed  Lieutenant  Simpson  for  the  inferior,  though 


^Er.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  93 

sufficient  offence,  of  disobeying  his  orders  for 
keeping  company  while  in  command  of  the 
Drake.  It  is  highly  probable  that  this  cir 
cumstance  never  occurred,  but  was  imagined 
by  Jones  upon  some  slight  foundation,  with 
the  motive,  so  apparent  in  all  his  writings, 
of  giving  himself  the  greater  credit  for  his 
achievements.  He  had  a  voice  originally  in 
the  selection  of  all  his  officers,  and  was  there 
fore  in  a  measure  responsible  for  the  character 
of  Simpson,  whose  insubordination  was  doubt 
less  the  consequence  of  injudicious  manage 
ment.  It  is  probable,  that  the  whole  difficulty 
had  its  origin  in  Jones's  large  promises,  at  the 
outset,  of  leaving  Simpson  in  command  of  the 
Ranger  on  his  arrival  in  Europe,  when  he 
should  be  transferred  to  the  fine  frigate  which 
Congress  had  authorized  the  Commissioners  in 
France  to  purchase  for  him.  Upon  the  founda 
tion  of  this  order  to  purchase  a  ship  for  him,  of 
which  order  he  was  himself  to  be  the  bearer, 
he  had  addressed  a  letter  to  the  person  engaged 
to  enter  men  to  accompany  him,  in  which  he 
informs  him,  that  the  men  "  on  their  arrival  in 
France  are  to  be  turned  over  to  one  of  the 


94  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

finest  frigates  of  the  French  navy,  she  having 
been  purchased  for  the  United  States  by  their 
Commissioners  at  the  Court  of  Paris,  and  to 
be  put  under  my  command."  Probably  Jones 
made  a  similar  promise  to  Simpson,  of  leaving 
him  in  command  of  the  Ranger  on  his  trans 
fer  to  the  large  frigate  •  and,  no  doubt,  when 
he  made  the  promise,  he  had  the  fullest  confi 
dence  in  his  ability  to  perform  it :  but  a  per 
son,  who  had  seen  as  much  of  sailors  as  Jones 
had,  should  have  known  that  nothing  should 
ever  be  promised,  either  to  officers  or  men,  that 
by  any  possibility  might  not  afterwards  be 
fulfilled.  There  is  no  class  of  men  who  at 
tach  so  much  importance  to  the  fidelity  of 
those  who  command  them,  in  the  fulfilment  of 
their  engagements,  or  who  concede  such  un 
qualified  respect  to  those  who  observe  it. 
Perhaps  we  may  attribute  Jones's  want  of  in 
fluence  among  his  officers  and  crew  to  his  apt 
ness  to  jump  too  quickly  to  results,  to  consider 
every  project  accomplished  the  moment  that 
it  was  hinted  to  him,  and,  on  the  faith  of 
these  anticipations,  to  promise  more  than  he 
was  usually  able  to  perform.  Another  source 


JET.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  95 

of  dissatisfaction  among  his  crew  grew  out  of 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  money  to  make  ad 
vances  to  them,  and  of  realizing  the  proceeds 
of  their  prizes.  Simpson  artfully  took  advan 
tage  of  the  discontent,  occasioned  by  these 
causes,  to  direct  the  hatred  of  the  men  against 
Jones,  by  ascribing  them  to  his  artifices.  Mr. 
Arthur  Lee,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  also 
increased  the  discontent  by  listening  to  the 
complaints  of  the  crew. 

Jones  was  involved  in  another  serious  diffi 
culty,  at  this  time,  with  regard  to  the  safe 
keeping  of  his  prisoners,  from  which  he  was 
relieved  by  the  assistance  of  the  authorities  at 
Brest,  whom  he  had  interested  in  his  behalf. 
Dr.  Franklin  was  engaged  at  the  time  in  ne 
gotiating  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  which 
he  soon  after  effected.  Jones  greatly  contrib 
uted  by  his  captures  to  this  result,  which  he 
had  much  at  heart ;  partly,  no  doubt,  from 
those  philanthropic  views  which  he  puts  for 
ward,  and  partly  because  he  was  personally 
interested  in  establishing  a  settled  system  of 
exchanges,  on  account  of  his  peculiar  position 
as  a  native  of  the  country  he  was  making 


96  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

war  against ;  and  his  great  liability  to  capture 
on  account  of  the  reckless  intrepidity  with 
which  he  exposed  himself. 

The  interest  which  he  took  in  securing 
kind  treatment  to  his  prisoners,  whilst  he 
watched  over  their  safe  keeping,  is  most  cred 
itable  to  his  feelings.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
Franklin,  enclosing  a  memorial  of  the  prison 
ers,  he  thus  expresses  himself,  with  character 
istic  warmth,  concerning  the  person  who  sap- 
plied  them.  "  The  fellow  who  holds  the  rod 
over  their  wretched  heads  has  menaced  them  if 
they  dare  to  complain,  and  would  have  inter 
cepted  their  memorial,  had  I  not  prevented  it. 
This  Riou  is  the  scoundrel,  who,  by  his  false 
hood,  promoted  discord  in  the  Ranger,  and 
got  the  deluded  people  to  appoint  him  their 
particular  agent.  Before  that  time  he  never 
could  call  twenty  louis  his  own,  and  now  he 
is  too  rich  for  his  former  profession  of  King's 
interpreter.  He  does  not  deny  that  he  is  a 
scoundrel,  for  so  I  have  called  him  more  than 
once  before  witnesses,  and  so  every  person  of 
sense  thinks  him  at  Brest." 

Late  in  May,  Franklin  wrote  to  Jones  pro- 


jET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  97 

posing  immediate  employment  for  the  Ran 
ger  against  the  Jersey  privateers,  who  did  a 
great  deal  of  mischief  by  intercepting  supplies 
for  America.  Franklin  said,  that  it  had  been 
intimated  to  him  from  high  authority,  that 
Jones's  small  vessel,  commanded  by  so  brave 
an  officer,  might  render  great  service,  by  fol 
lowing  the  privateers  where  larger  ships  could 
not  venture,  and,  being  accompanied  by  some 
French  frigates,  following  at  a  proper  distance, 
might  decoy  them  out.  Franklin  mentioned, 
that  he  had  written  to  England  about  an  ex 
change  of  prisoners,  and  concluded  by  con 
gratulating  Jones  most  cordially  on  his  late 
success,  and  wishing  him  an  increase  of  the 
honor  he  had  acquired. 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  Jones  began  by  ex 
pressing  great  readiness  to  perform  any  service 
that  might  be  required  of  him,  but  expressed 
doubts  as  to  his  ability  to  lead  his  crew, 
"  which,"  he  said,  "could  only  be  done  by 
the  seldom-failing  bait  for  sordid  minds,  great 
views  of  interest."  He  complained  much  of 
their  homesickness,  and  proposed  that  those 
officers  who  were  "  most  dangerously  ill  "  of 

VOL.    I.  7 


98  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  [1778. 

that  disease  might  have  liberty  to  resign,  that 
their  commissions  might  be  given  to  men  of 
stronger  nerves.  He  stated  that  the  Ran 
ger  was  crank,  slow,  and  of  too  trifling  force 
to  be  a  match  for  most  of  the  enemy's  cruisers, 
and  intimated  his  strong  desire  to  be  placed  in 
command  of  the  ship  building  at  Amsterdam, 
which  it  had  been  the  intention  of  Congress 
to  give  him,  and  which  he  did  not  doubt  his 
ability  to  man  with  American  seamen.  He 
said  that  if  two  or  three  fast  sailing  ships 
could  be  collected,  there  was  a  great  choice 
of  enterprises,  some  of  which  might  succeed, 
and  add  more  to  the  interest  and  honor  of 
America  than  cruising  with  twice  the  force. 
"  It  appears  to  me,"  he  said,  "  to  be  the  prov 
ince  of  our  infant  navy  to  surprise  and  spread 
alarms  with  fast  sailing  ships.  When  we  grow 
stronger,  we  can  meet  their  fleets,  and  dispute 
with  them  the  sovereignty  of  the  ocean." 

Among  the  various  plans  for  expeditions  sub 
mitted  on  this  occasion  by  Jones,  was  one  for 
entering  the  British  Channel,  and  burning  the 
shipping  and  town  of  Whitehaven,  and  there 
by  interrupting  the  winter's  supply  of  coal  for 


JSx.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  99 

Ireland,  chiefly  shipped  from  that  place  ;  an 
other  to  take  the  bank  of  Ayr  in  Scotland, 
and  burn  the  town,  also  the  towns  of  Green- 
ock  and  Port  Glasgow,  and  the  shipping  in 
the  Clyde.  He  considered  the  fishery  at  Cam- 
bletown  also  an  object  worthy  of  attention, 
and  thought  that  some  very  valuable  prizes 
might  be  found  in  the  Irish  ports.  While 
preparations  were  making  for  this  enterprise, 
he  suggested  that  the  eastern  coasts  of  Eng 
land  and  Scotland  might  be  ravaged,  the  col 
liers  of  Newcastle  burned,  and  several  towns 
destroyed  or  laid  under  contribution.  He  had 
also  a  project  for  intercepting  the  Baltic  or 
West  India  fleet,  or  the  Hudson's  Bay  ships. 
It  is  quite  painful  to  observe  how  many  of 
these  schemes  for  annoying  the  enemy  had 
reference  to  his  native  country. 

Before  this  letter  could  be  received,  Dr. 
Franklin  addressed  a  letter  to  him,  well  suit 
ed  to  flatter  his  pride,  and  gratify  his  ambi 
tion  to  be  on  the  road  to  greater  distinction ; 
for  it  proposed  the  very  thing  he  had  asked 
for,  namely,  the  command  of  the  Indien. 

Franklin  stated,  that  she  was  the  property 


100  LIFE   OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

of  the  King  of  France,  and,  as  he  had  not  yet 
declared  war  against  England,  it  was  proposed 
to  place  her  under  Paul  Jones's  command,  with 
the  commission  and  flag  of  the  States.  The 
Prince  de  Nassau,  who  had  already  signalized 
his  taste  for  romantic  adventure,  promised  to 
make  the  cruise  as  a  volunteer  under  Jones's 
command.  The  ship  was  to  be  brought  to 
Brest  as  a  French  merchantman,  and  be  there 
equipped  and  manned.  Franklin  mentioned, 
that  the  other  Commissioners  were  not  ac 
quainted  with  this  proposition  as  yet,  since  it 
was  necessary  that  it  should  be  kept  a  secret 
until  the  vessel  should  arrive  in  France,  for  fear 
of  difficulties  in  Holland,  and  interception.  As 
the  French  ministry  had  desired  that  the  affair 
should  rest  between  Franklin  and  Jones,  he 
suggested  to  the  latter,  that  it  might  be  best 
for  him  to  come  to  Paris  to  mature  the  pro 
ject. 

After  an  interval  of  ten  days,  Franklin 
wrote  again  to  Jones  to  say,  that,  in  consider 
ation  of  the  disposition  and  uneasiness  of  the 
Ranger's  crew,  the  Commissioners  felt  an  in 
clination  to  order  her  directly  back  to  Amer- 


jET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  101 

ica.  He  therefore  suggested,  whether  it  would 
not  be  advisable  for  Jones,  in  consideration 
of  the  proposal  which  had  been  made  by 
the  French  ministry,  that  the  ship  should  be 
sent  back  under  some  other  commander.  He 
mentioned,  that  in  consequence  of  the  high 
opinion  the  Minister  of  Marine  had  formed  of 
Jones's  bravery,  he  had  determined  to  give 
him  the  frigate  in  Holland,  to  be  furnished 
with  as  many  French  seamen  as  he  might 
desire ;  but  to  act  under  the  commission  and 
flag  of  Congress  ;  and,  as  Jones  might  like  to 
have  a  number  of  Americans,  and  his  own 
were  homesick,  it  was  proposed  to  give  him 
as  many  as  he  could  engage  out  of  two  hun 
dred  prisoners,  which  the  ministry  of  Britain 
had  at  length  agreed  to  exchange  for  those 
brought  in  by  the  Ranger.  The  English 
offered  to  make  the  exchange  at  Calais,  where 
they  were  to  bring  the  Americans.  Nothing 
was  wanting  to  complete  the  arrangement, 
but  a  list  of  the  Ranger's  prisoners,  contain 
ing  their  names  and  rank  ;  immediately  after 
the  receipt  of  which,  an  equal  number  were  to 
be  prepared,  and  sent  in  a  ship  to  Calais, 


102  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

where  the  Rangers  prisoners  were  to  meet 
them.  Franklin  suggested,  that,  if  by  these 
means  Jones  could  get  a  good  new  crew, 
it  would  be  best  that  he  were  quite  free  of 
the  old  ;  for  a  mixture  might  introduce  the 
infection  of  that  sickness  he  had  complained 
of.  But  this  was  to  be  left  to  his  own  dis 
cretion.  Franklin  added,  that  the  Commis 
sioners  might  place  under  his  orders  the  Prov 
idence,  a  new  Continental  ship  of  thirty  guns, 
which,  as  the  sage  stated  with  great  appar 
ent  delight,  "  in  coming  out  of  the  river  of 
Providence,  had  given  two  frigates,  that  had 
been  posted  to  intercept  her,  each  of  them  so 
heavy  a  dose  of  her  eighteen  and  twelve 
pounders,  that  they  had  not  the  courage  or 
were  not  able  to  pursue  her."  He  stated, 
that  it  was  desired  that  Jones  should  come  to 
Versailles,  where  one  would  meet  him,  in  or 
der  to  such  a  settlement  of  plans  with  those 
who  had  the  direction,  as  could  not  well  be 
done  by  letter.  He  said,  that  the  project  of 
giving  Jones  the  command  of  the  Indien 
pleased  him  the  more,  as  it  was  a  probable 
opening  to  the  higher  preferment  he  so  justly 
merited. 


;ET.  30.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  103 

The  intelligence  thus  communicated  to 
Jones,  was  of  the  most  gratifying  character ; 
and,  as  the  project  gradually  became  matured, 
we  find  M.  de  Sartine,  the  Minister  of  Ma 
rine,  signifying  the  desire  of  his  sovereign  to 
the  American  Commissioners,  that  they  would 
relinquish  to  him  the  services  of  Captain 
Jones,  to  which  they  readily  assented,  with 
the  assurance  that  they  would  be  happy  if 
his  services  should  be  in  any  respect  useful  in 
promoting  the  designs  of  the  French  govern 
ment. 

In  accordance  with  the  hint  which  he  had 
received  from  Franklin,  Jones  proceeded  to 
Paris,  arid  on  his  arrival  hastened  to  place  his 
services  at  the  disposal  of  M.  de  Sartine,  while 
at  the  same  time  he  very  ingeniously  gave  it 
to  be  understood,  that  he  was  not  dependent 
on  his  patronage,  but  was  well  satisfied  with 
his  present  position  and  prospects.  He  wrote, 
that  he  should  be  ungrateful  did  he  not  return 
thanks  for  the  Minister's  kind  and  generous 
intentions  in  his  favor ;  his  greatest  ambition 
would  be  to  merit  such  approbation,  by  ser 
vices  against  the  common  enemy  of  France 


104  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

and  America.  He  stated,  that  he  had  now 
under  his  command  a  ship  bound  to  America, 
and  that,  on  his  arrival  there,  from  the  former 
confidence  of  Congress  he  had  reason  to  expect 
an  immediate  removal  into  one  of  the  best 
American  ships ;  he  had  even  reason  to  expect 
the  chief  command  of  the  first  squadron  des 
tined  for  an  expedition,  as  he  had  in  his  pos 
session  several  similar  appointments;  more 
over,  when  Congress  should  see  fit  to  ap 
point  admirals,  he  had  assurance  that  his 
name  would  not  be  forgotten.  These,  he 
said,  were  flattering  prospects  to  a  man,  who 
had  drawn  his  sword  only  upon  principles  of 
philanthropy,  and  in  support  of  the  dignity  of 
human  nature.  But,  as  he  preferred  a  solid 
to  a  shining  reputation,  a  useful  to  a  splendid 
command,  he  held  himself  ready,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Commissioners,  to  be  gov 
erned  by  M.  de  Sartine  in  any  measures  that 
might  tend  to  distress  and  humble  the  com 
mon  enemy. 

The  hope,  however,  on  the  wings  of  which 
Jones  had  hastened  to  the  Capital,  and  which 
had  animated  him  while  writing  his  grandilo- 


iE-r.  30.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  105 

quent  letter,  having  for  object  to  magnify  his 
own  importance,  and  procure  for  him  that  of 
which  he  was  so  worthy,  a  formidable  com 
mand,  and  the  means  of  winning  glory  on  a 
great  scale,  was  destined  soon  to  fade  away. 
To  be  sure,  he  was  kindly  received,  and  hos 
pitably  entertained,  by  many  persons  of  dis 
tinction  ;  but,  as  the  war,  which  about  this 
time  commenced  between  France  and  Eng 
land,  enabled  France  to  carry  on  hostilities 
under  her  own  flag,  she  now  required  all  her 
ships  and  seamen  for  her  own  armaments,  so 
that  Jones,  in  his  subsequent  efforts  to  obtain  a 
better  command  than  that  of  the  Ranger,  had 
to  incur  the  jealousy  and  opposition  of  the 
whole  French  marine. 

Owing  to  this  state  of  things,  and  to  some 
difficulty  which  Holland  is  supposed  to  have 
thrown  in  the  way  of  removing  the  Indien 
from  Amsterdam,  for  fear  of  provoking  the  en 
mity  of  England,  the  project  of  conferring 
the  command  of  that  ship  on  Jones,  which  the 
Minister  had  made  the  pretext  of  inviting  him 
to  Court,  fell  through  entirely.  Instead  of  it, 
he  was  amused  with  another  scheme  for  the 


106  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

capture  of  the  Baltic  fleet.  Three  frigates 
and  two  cutters  were  destined  to  effect  this 
object,  under  the  command  of  Jones.  One  of 
the  frigates  lay  at  Brest,  which  he  was  to 
command  in  person ;  the  other  two  and  the 
cutter  were  at  St.  Malo. 

Jones  felt  so  sure  that  he  should  be  appoint 
ed  to  this  command,  that  he  went  so  far  as  to 
make  inquiries  for  a  chaplain,  in  order  to  give 
greater  dignity  to  his  flag.  Another  previous 
step  of  more  serious  importance,  which  he 
took,  was  to  give  up  the  command  of  the 
Ranger  to  his  former  troublesome  lieutenant. 
Finding  Simpson  more  reasonable  before  he 
left  Brest,  Jones  had  released  him  from  con 
finement,  on  his  giving  his  parole  in  writing, 
that  he  would  not  serve  again  in  the  navy  un 
til  acquitted  by  a  court-martial.  Jones  now 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Commissioners,  in 
which  he  stated,  that,  at  the  time  when  he 
took  Lieutenant  Simpson's  parole,  he  did  not 
expect  to  have  been  long  absent  from  Amer 
ica  ;  but,  as  circumstances  had  now  rendered 
the  time  of  his  return  less  certain,  he  was  wil 
ling  to  let  the  dispute  between  them  drop  for 


.ET.  31.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  107 

ever,  by  giving  up  his  parole,  which  would  en 
title  him  to  command  the  Ranger.  He  said  he 
had  no  malice  towards  him,  and,  if  he  had  un 
consciously  done  him  any  injury,  this  would 
be  making  him  all  the  satisfaction  in  his  pow 
er.  If,  on  the  contrary,  Simpson  had  injured 
him,  he  was  willing  to  trust  to  that  officer  for 
a  suitable  acknowledgment. 

It  was  in  virtue  of  this  complete  release  of 
Lieutenant  Simpson  from  the  obligation  not  to 
serve  until  tried  by  a  court-martial,  which 
Jones  had  imposed  on  him  as  the  condition 
of  his  release  from  confinement,  that  the  Com 
missioners  probably  made  use  of  their  authori 
ty  to  invest  Lieutenant  Simpson  with  the 
command  of  the  Ranger,  in  order  to  return  in 
her  to  the  United  States,  her  crew  being  ex 
ceedingly  turbulent  and  discontented.  Or 
else,  he  being  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Ran 
ger,  the  command  naturally  rested  in  him, 
when  Captain  Jones  was  detached,  at  the  re 
quest  of  the  French  Minister  of  Marine,  with 
a  view  to  more  important  employment. 

On  his  return  to  Brest,  Paul  Jones  found 
that  Count  D'Orvilliers  had  already  returned 


108  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

from  sea  with  the  French  fleet,  and  had  given 
the  command  of  Jones's  proposed  flag  ship  to 
one  of  his  captains,  who  had  lost  his  own  ship 
in  the  course  of  the  cruise.  With  regard  to  the 

O 

two  frigates  and  cutter,  at  St.  Malo,  that  were 
to  constitute  the  rest  of  Jones's  squadron,  M. 
de  Sartine.  finding  himself  harassed  by  abun 
dant  applications  from  French  captains  to  be 
appointed  to  these  very  ships,  found  it  con 
venient  to  change  his  arrangements  as  soon  as 
Jones  had  departed,  and  sent  the  ships  off 
at  once,  with  French  commanders,  to  fulfil 
Jones's  project  for  the  interception  of  the  Baltic 
fleet,  in  which  they  met  with  no  success.  The 
result  of  these  various  events  was,  that  Paul 
Jones  found  not  only  that  his  promised  com 
mand  of  the  expedition  against  the  Baltic  fleet 
had  passed  into  other  hands,  but  also  that  his 
late  contumacious  lieutenant,  Simpson,  was  in 
command  of  the  Ranger.  Among  the  mul 
tiplicity  of  prospects  of  honorable  employment 
which  had  a  few  days  before  been  held  up  to 
him,  he  now  found  himself  without  a  ship. 
He  was  naturally  full  of  irritability  ;  but  his 
rage  was  unreasonably  directed  almost  wholly 


2ET.31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  109 

at  Simpson,  who  had  only  accepted  the  com 
mand  which  Jones  had  promised  to  him  before 
his  departure  from  Portsmouth,  and  which  he 
had  now  voluntarily  relinquished  to  him.  He 
wrote  to  the  Commissioners  on  the  13th  of 
August,  that,  since  his  arrival  at  Brest,  five 
days  before,  he  had  neither  seen  nor  heard 
from  Lieutenant  Simpson  ;  but  had  been  cred 
ibly  informed,  that  it  was  generally  reported  in 
the  Ranger,  throughout  the  French  fleet,  and 
on  shore,  that  he  was  turned  out  of  the  ser 
vice  ;  that  the  Commissioners  had  given 
Simpson  his  place,  with  a  captain's  commis 
sion,  and  that  his  letter  to  the  Commissioners 
in  Simpson's  behalf  had  been  involuntary, 
and  in  obedience  only  to  their  orders.  That 
these  reports  prevailed,  Jones  said,  was  not  an 
idle  conjecture,  but  a  melancholy  fact.  He 
therefore  sought,  nay  demanded  redress,  re 
dress  by  a  court-martial,  to  form  which  he 
said  that  there  was  now  a  sufficient  number 
of  American  officers  in  Brest  and  the  neigh 
bouring  ports.  Among  the  claims  which  he 
urged  why  his  wounded  feelings  should  be 
considered,  he  said  that  he  had  "faithfully 


110  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

and  personally  fought  in  the  dignified  cause 
of  human  nature,  ever  since  the  American 
banner  first  waved  on  the  Delaware  and  on 
the  ocean." 

The  Commissioners  very  judiciously  abstain 
ed  from  losing  the  time,  and  employing  the 
services,  of  our  officers  in  the  French  ports,  by 
the  investigation  of  this  difficulty.  Having 
determined  to  retain  Jones  in  France,  to  carry 
out  some  projects  of  the  French  Ministry  for 
the  annoyance  of  the  English  coasts,  and  to 
despatch  the  Ranger  to  the  United  States  un 
der  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Simpson,  both 
of  which  measures  were  settled  with  the  ap 
probation  of  Jones,  they  ordered  that  vessel 
to  return  to  Portsmouth,  where  she  had  been 
fitted  out,  and  where  she  duly  arrived,  having 
made  several  prizes  on  the  homeward  passage. 
In  order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  injurious  reports 
of  which  Jones  complained,  of  his  having  been 
turned  out  of  the  Ranger,  he  not  long  after 
was  furnished  with  an  official  letter  from 
Franklin  and  Adams,  stating  that,  as  his  re 
moval  from  the  Ranger,  and  the  appointment 
of  Lieutenant  Simpson  to  command,  might  be 


J£r.  31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  HI 

liable  to  misinterpretation,  they  certified  that 
it  had  been  done  by  the  Commissioners,  at  the 
request  of  the  French  Minister  of  Marine,  who 
was  desirous  of  employing  Jones  on  important 
service  ;  and  that  Simpson  had  been  appointed 
to  command  the  Ranger  with  the  consent  of 
Jones,  after  he  had  released  him  from  arrest. 
As  an  evidence  that  Jones's  ill  opinion  of 
Simpson  was  not  altogether  prejudice,  it  may 
be  well  here  to  mention,  that  he  was  not  again 
employed  in  the  navy. 


112  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Season  of  Inactivity.  —  Jones's  Impatience.  —  His  Efforts  to  Ob 
tain  a  Command.  — Writes  to  Prince  of  Nassau-Siegen.  —  His 
Letter  is  not  answered.  —  Writes  to  the  French  Minister  of 
Marine. — Recapitulation  of  Claims  and  Grievances.  —  Letter 
to  the  Duke  of  Rochefoucauld.  —  Denunciation  of  the  Minister 
of  Marine. —  Letter  to  M.  Chaumont.  —  Letter  to  the  King. — 
Statement  of  Wrongs.  —  Appeal  to  the  Magnanimity  of  the  Sov 
ereign.  —  Determination  of  Government  to  buy  a  Ship  for  Jones. 
—  Efforts  of  M.  Chaumont.  —  Character  of  this  Gentleman. — 
Jones  enters  into  a  Contention  with  Mr.  Arthur  Lee.  — Prolong 
ed  Delay.  —  Advice  of  Poor  Richard.  — Jones  adopts  it.  —  Vis 
its  Versailles.  — Receives  Command  of  a  Ship  under  the  Amer 
ican  Flag.  —  Calls  her  the  Poor  Richard. 

During  the  five  following  months,  Paul 
Jones  was  engaged  in  ineffectual  efforts  to  se 
cure  the  fulfilment  of  that  promise  of  honorable 
employment,  by  which  the  French  Minister 
of  Marine  had  induced  him  to  abandon  the 
Ranger,  and  the  project  of  returning  to  the 
United  States.  The  hopeless  inactivity  in 
which  he  was  kept,  during  this  period,  was  by 
no  means  of  his  own  choosing,  and  he  made 
amends  for  it,  as  best  he  could,  by  indefatiga 
ble  correspondence  with  every  one  who  could 
in  any  way  forward  his  object  of  obtaining 
instant  employment.  Among  the  personages 


JET.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  113 

whom  he  endeavoured  to  interest  in  this  mat 
ter,  was  the  Prince  of  Nassau-Siegen,  who  had 
entertained  the  intention  of  accompanying 
Jones  in  the  Indien,  in  the  character  of  a  vol 
unteer.  Jones  wrote  to  him,  to  say  that  the 
honor  which  he  had  proposed  to  do  him,  by 
accompanying  him  on  the  ocean,  had  filled 
his  heart  with  the  warmest  sentiments  of 
gratitude.  When  the  Prince's  intentions  were 
first  communicated  to  him,  he  had  under  his 
command  a  ship  bound  with  two  frigates  for 
America,  where  there  were  now  two  new  ships 
of  eighty  guns  each,  and  eight  frigates  of  for 
ty  guns  each,  nearly  ready  for  sea.  When 
he  should  arrive  there,  from  the  former  confi 
dence  of  Congress,  he  had  assurance  of  an  im 
mediate  removal  into  one  of  their  best  ships, 
and  of  being  appointed  to  command  the  first 
squadron,  destined  for  any  private  expedition. 
Before  he  came  to  Europe,  Congress  had  hon 
ored  him  with  several  such  appointments,  and 
he  was  assured,  that,  when  admirals  were  ap 
pointed,  his  name  would  be  remembered. 

"  These,"  he  said,  "  were  flattering  pros 
pects  to  a  man  who  had  drawn  his  sword  only 

VOL.  i.  8 


114  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

from  principles  of  philanthropy,  and  in  support 
of  the  dignity  of  human  nature;"  and  these 
were  the  prospects  he  had  voluntarily  laid 
aside,  that  he  might  pursue  glory  in  the 
Prince's  company.  "  Suffer  me  not,  therefore," 
he  said,  "  I  beseech  you,  to  continue  longer  in 
this  shameful  inactivity  ;  such  dishonor  is 
worse  to  me  than  a  thousand  deaths.  I  have 
already  lost  the  golden  season,  the  summer, 
which  in  war  is  of  more  value  than  all  the  rest 
of  the  year.  I  appear  here  as  a  person  cast 
off  and  useless  ;  and,  when  any  one  asks  me 
what  I  purpose  to  do,  I  am  unable  to  answer." 
He  told  the  Prince,  that  he  had  been  unac 
customed  to  ask  any  favors,  even  from  Con 
gress,  as  he  was  not  in  pursuit  of  interest  j 
but  he  besought  him  to  represent  his  situa 
tion  to  the  best  of  Kings,  that  they  might 
together  be  forthwith  enabled  to  pursue  glory, 
and  humble  the  common  enemy  of  humanity. 
If  the  ship  that  was  at  first  proposed,  could 
not  be  got  ready  for  sea  at  once,  others  might 
be  obtained.  He  mentioned  a  fine  and  fast 
sailing  frigate  at  L'Orient,  built  on  the  same 
construction  with  the  Indien,  and  mounted 


LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  115 

with  eighteen-pounders  ;  and  there  were  sever 
al  others  at  St.  Malo,  to  whom  commanders 
had  not  yet  been  appointed.  He  avowed  the 
greatest  reliance  on  the  generous  intentions  of 
that  great  minister,  M.  de  Sartine,  but  ex 
pressed  an  unwillingness  to  intrude  on  him 
every  day  with  letters,  and,  in  the  multiplicity 
and  importance  of  his  affairs,  Jones  found  that 
his  concerns  might  be  forgotten. 

The  Prince  of  Nassau,  having  abandoned 
the  project  of  making  the  cruise  with  Jones, 
as  capriciously  as  he  had  taken  it  up,  lent  him 
no  further  aid  in  procuring  a  ship,  and  had  not 
even  the  ordinary  courtesy  to  reply  to  the 
above  letter.  The  generous  intentions  of  that 
great  minister  M.  de  Sartine,  whose  delusive 
offers  had  alone  occasioned  Jones's  remaining 
in  France,  were  equally  unproductive  of  any 
tangible  results,  and,  in  consequence,  Jones  ad 
dressed  him,  on  the  13th  of  September,  what 
he  called  an  "  explicit  letter." 

"  Honored  Sir, 

"When  his  Excellency,  Dr.  Franklin,  inform 
ed  me  that  you  had  condescended  to  think  me 


116  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

worthy  of  your  notice,  I  took  such  pleasure  in 
reflecting  on  the  happy  alliance  between  France 
and  America,  that  I  was  really  flattered,  and 
entertained  the  most  grateful  sense  of  the  hon 
or  which  you  proposed  for  me,  as  well  as  the 
favor  which  the  King  proposed  for  America, 
by  putting  so  fine  a  ship  of  war  as  the  Indien 
under  my  command,  and  under  its  flag,  with 
unlimited  orders.  In  obedience  to  your  desire 
I  came  to  Versailles,  and  was  taught  to  believe 
that  my  intended  ship  was  in  deep  water,  and 
ready  for  sea ;  but,  when  the  Prince  de  Nas 
sau  returned,  I  received  from  him  a  different 
account.  I  was  told  that  the  Indien  could  not 
be  got  afloat  within  a  shorter  period  than  three 
months,  at  the  approaching  equinox. 

"  To  employ  this  interval  usefully,  I  first 
offered  to  go  from  Brest  with  Count  D?Orvil- 
liers,  as  a  volunteer,  which  you  thought  fit  to 
reject.  I  had  then  the  satisfaction  to  find 
that  you  approved,  in  general,  of  a  variety  of 
hints  for  private  enterprises  which  I  had  drawn 
up  for  your  consideration,  and  I  was  flattered 
with  assurances  from  Messieurs  de  Chaumont 
and  Baudonin,  that  three  of  the  finest  frigates 


^ET.  31.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  H7 

in  France,  with  two  tenders  and  a  number  of 
troops,  would  be  immediately  put  under  my 
command  ;  and  that  I  should  have  unlimited 
orders,  and  be  at  free  liberty  to  pursue  such  of 
my  own  projects  as  I  thought  proper.  But  this 
plan  fell  to  nothing,  in  the  moment,  when  I 
was  taught  to  think,  that  nothing  was  wanting 
but  the  King's  signature. 

"  Another  much  inferior  armament  from 
L' Orient  was  proposed  to  be  put  under  my 
command,  which  was  by  no  means  equal  to 
the  services  that  were  expected  from  it ;  for 
speed  and  force,  though  both  requisite,  were 
both  wanting.  Happily  for  me,  this  also  fail 
ed,  and  I  was  thereby  saved  from  a  dreadful 
prospect  of  ruin  and  dishonor.  I  had  so  entire 
a  reliance,  that  you  would  desire  nothing  of 
me  inconsistent  with  my  honor  and  rank,  that 
the  moment  you  required  me  to  come  down 
here,  in  order  to  proceed  around  to  St.  Malo, 
though  I  had  received  no  written  orders,  and 
neither  knew  your  intention  respecting  my 
destination  or  command,  I  obeyed  with  such 
haste,  that  although  my  curiosity  led  me  to 
look  at  the  armament  at  L'Orient,  yet  I  was 


118  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

but  three  days  from  Passy  till  I  reached  Brest. 
Here,  too,  I  drew  a  blank  ;  but  when  I  saw  the 
Lively,  it  was  no  disappointment,  as  that  ship, 
both  in  sailing  and  equipment,  is  far  inferior 
to  the  Ranger. 

"  My  only  disappointment  here  was  my  be 
ing  precluded  from  embarking  in  pursuit  of 
marine  knowledge  with  Count  D'Orvilliers, 
who  did  not  sail  till  some  days  after  my  return. 
He  is  my  friend,  and  expressed  his  wishes  for 
my  company.  I  accompanied  him  out  of  the 
road  when  the  fleet  sailed  ;  and  he  always  la 
mented,  that  neither  himself,  nor  any  person 
in  authority  at  Brest,  had  received  from  you 
any  order  that  mentioned  my  name.  I  am  as 
tonished,  therefore,  to  be  informed  that  you  at 
tribute  my  not  being  in  the  fleet  to  my  stay  at 
L'Orient. 

"  I  am  not  a  mere  adventurer  of  fortune. 
Stimulated  by  principles  of  reason  and  philan 
thropy,  I  laid  aside  my  enjoyments  in  private 
life,  and  embarked  under  the  flag  of  America, 
when  it  was  first  displayed.  In  that  line,  my 
desire  of  fame  is  infinite,  and  I  must  not  now 
so  far  forget  my  own  honor,  and  what  I  owe 


^ET.31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  119 

to  my  friends  and  America,  as  to  remain  inac 
tive.  My  rank  knows  no  superior  in  the 
American  marine  ;  I  have  long  since  been  ap 
pointed  to  command  an  expedition,  with  five 
of  its  ships,  and  I  can  receive  orders  from  no 
junior  or  inferior  officer  whatever. 

"  I  have  been  here  in  the  most  tormenting 
suspense  for  more  than  a  month  since  my  re 
turn  ;  and  agreeably  to  your  desire,  as  men 
tioned  to  me  by  M.  Chaumont,  a  lieutenant  has 
been  appointed,  and  is  with  me.  who  speaks 
the  French  as  well  as  the  English.  Circular 
letters  have  been  written,  and  sent  the  8th  of 
last  month  from  the  English  Admiralty,  be 
cause  they  expected  me  to  pay  another  visit 
with  four  ships.  Therefore  I  trust,  that,  if 
the  Indien  is  not  to  be  got  out,  you  will  not  at 
the  approaching  season  substitute  a  force  that 
is  not  at  least  equal,  both  in  strength  and  sail 
ing,  to  any  of  the  enemy's  cruising  ships. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  interfere  with  the  har 
mony  of  the  French  marine  ;  but,  if  I  am  still 
thought  worthy  of  your  attention,  I  shall  hope 
for  a  separate  command,  with  liberal  orders. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  you  should  now  have  no 


120  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

further  occasion  for  my  services,  the  only  fa 
vor  I  can  ask  is,  that  you  will  bestow  on  me 
the  Alert,  with  a  few  seamen,  and  permit  me 
to  return,  and  carry  with  me  your  good  opin 
ion  in  that  small  vessel,  before  the  winter,  to 
America. 

"  I  am  happy  to  hear  that  the  frigates  from 
St.  Malo  have  been  successful  near  Shetland. 
Had  Count  D'Estaing  arrived  in  the  Delaware 
a  few  days  sooner,  he  might  have  made  a  most 
glorious  and  easy  conquest.  Many  other  suc 
cessful  projects  may  be  adopted  from  the  hints 
I  had  the  honor  to  draw  up  ;  and  if  I  can  still 
furnish  more,  or  execute  any  of  those  already 
furnished,  so  as  to  distress  and  humble  the 
common  enemy,  it  will  afford  me  the  truest 
satisfaction.  I  am  ambitious  to  merit  the  hon 
or  of  your  friendship  and  favor  ;  and  am  ful 
ly  persuaded  that  I  now  address  a  noble  mind 
ed  man,  who  will  not  be  offended  with  the 
honest  freedom  whicli  has  always  marked  my 
correspondence." 

Not  too  confident  in  the  unassisted  justice 
of  his  cause,  Jones  soon  after  sought  the 


iE-r.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  121 

friendly  interest  of  the  Duke  de  Rochefou 
cauld  in  a  letter,  in  which  he  very  injudicious 
ly  launched  forth  into  hitter  invective  against 
the  Minister  whom  he  had,  the  month  before, 
so  respectfully  addressed.  He  pronounced  the 
minister's  behaviour  towards  him  incompre 
hensible  ;  denied  having  sought  the  connex 
ion  with  the  Court  :  and  said  that  he  had  giv 
en  up  absolute  certainties,  and  far  more  flat 
tering  prospects  than  any  of  those  which  had 
been  held  out  to  him.  What  inducement, 
Jones  asked,  could  he  have  for  this,  but  grati 
tude  to  France  for  having  first  recognised  our 
independence  ?  And,  having  given  his  word  to 
stay  for  some  time  in  Europe,  he  had  been 
unwilling  to  take  it  back,  especially  after  hav 
ing  communicated  the  circumstances  to  Con 
gress.  The  Minister,  after  possessing  himself 
of  his  schemes  and  ideas,  had  treated  him 
like  a  child  five  times  successively,  by  leading 
him  on  from  great  to  little,  and  from  little  to 
less.  Does  such  conduct,  he  asked,  do  honor 
either  to  his  head  or  to  his  heart  ?  Nor  had 
he  offered  the  least  apology  for  any  of  these 
five  deceptions  :  nor  assigned  any  good  reason 


122  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

to  that  venerable  and  great  character,  Dr. 
Franklin,  who  had  been  made  the  instrument 
of  entrapping  Jones  into  this  cruel  state  of  in 
action  and  suspense. 

He  complained,  moreover,  that  M.  de  Sar- 
tine  had  lately  written  a  letter  to  Count  D'Or- 
villiers,  proposing  to  send  him  home,  "  dans 
une  bonne  voiture,  —  in  an  easy  coach."  This 
he  said,  was  absolutely  adding  insult  to  inju 
ry,  and  was,  besides,  the  proposition  of  a  man 
whose  veracity  he  had  not  experienced  on 
other  occasions.  He  said  that  he  might,  dur 
ing  the  summer,  with  the  Ranger,  joined 
with  two  other  American  frigates,  then  in 
France,  have  given  the  enemy  sufficient  foun 
dation  for  its  fears  in  Britain,  as  well  as  Ire 
land,  and  could  since  have  been  assisting 
Count  D'Estaing,  or  acting  separately  with  an 
American  squadron.  Instead  of  this,  he  had 
been  chained  down  to  shameful  inactivity 
here,  after  having  written  to  Congress,  to  re 
serve  no  command  for  him  in  America.  Feel 
ing  convinced  that  the  noble  and  generous 
breast  of  his  correspondent  would  feel  for  his 
unmerited  treatment,  Jones  besought  him  to 


jET.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  123 

interest  himself  with  the  Duke  de  Chartres, 
that  the  King  might  be  made  acquainted  with 
his  situation,  as  he  had  been  taught  to  believe 
that  he  had  been  detained  in  France  with 
his  Majesty's  knowledge  and  approbation,  and 
he  felt  sure  he  was  too  good  a  prince  to  de 
tain  him  for  his  disadvantage  or  dishonor. 

To  M.  le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  a  rich  and  in 
fluential  individual,  who  had  taken  a  lively 
interest,  from  the  first,  in  our  revolutionary 
struggle,  had  made  advances  for  the  purchase 
of  military  stores  to  be  shipped  to  America, 
and  had  exerted  himself  at  court  to  procure 
Jones  a  suitable  command,  he  a  few  days  later 
addressed  himself  on  the  same  subject,  and 
with  greater  familiarity.  M.  de  Chaumont 
had  offered  him,  with  many  encomiums  on  his 
valor,  the  command  of  a  ship  of  his  OAvn,  to 
be  fitted  out  as  a  privateer,  as  so  many  difficul 
ties  occurred  to  prevent  his  getting  a  ship  of 
war.  To  this  proposition  he  replied,  with 
many  thanks  for  the  kindness  intended  to  him, 
that  he  was  not  his  own  master;  and,  as  a  ser 
vant  of  what  he  called  the  Imperial  Republic 
of  America,  honored  with  the  friendship  and 


124  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1773. 

favor  of  Congress,  he  could  not,  of  his  own 
authority  or  inclination,  serve  either  himself  or 
even  his  best  friends  in  any  private  line  what 
ever.  He  held  himself  to  be  the  servant  of  Amer 
ica,  devoted  wholly  to  her  interest  and  honor. 
He  said  that  he  had  believed  the  minister  at 
the  beginning,  but  now  having  been  deceived 
so  often,  he  would  doubt  him  even  though  he 
were  to  swear  again  by  the  Styx ;  for  it  seems 
he  had  taken  this  oath  in  affirmation  of  one 
of  his  promises  to  Jones.  Jones  had  written 
to  him  several  respectful  letters,  to  none  of 
which  had  he  condescended  an  answer.  Jones 
said  that  the  secrecy,  which  he  had  been  re 
quired  to  observe  respecting  the  Minister's  in 
tentions  in  his  favor,  had  been  inviolable ; 
and  he  had  been  so  delicate  with  respect  to 
his  situation,  that  he  had  been  considered 
everywhere  an  officer  disgraced  and  cast  off 
for  discreditable  reasons.  This  had  been  his 
situation  ever  since  his  return  from  Paris, 
more  than  two  months  before  ;  and  he  had  al 
ready  lost  nearly  five  months  of  his  time,  the 
best  season  of  the  year,  and  such  opportunities 
of  serving  his  country  and  acquiring  honor,  as 


jET.31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  125 

he  could  not  again  expect  during  the  war. 
Jones  protested  that  his  sensibility  could  not 
brook  this  unworthy  situation,  and  if  the  min 
isters  did  not  make  a  direct  written  apology  to 
him,  suitable  to  the  injury  which  he  had  sus 
tained,  he  would,  in  vindication  of  his  sacred 
honor,  painful  as  it  would  be,  publish  in  the 
gazettes  of  Europe  an  account  of  his  treatment. 

As  the  Minister  had  invited  him  to  stay  in 
Europe,  by  the  laws  of  hospitality  it  was  his 
duty  to  make  offers.  And,  if  he  did  confer 
the  command  of  the  Indicn^  as  first  proposed, 
Jones  insisted  that  he  could  not  in  honor  now 
offer  less  than  an  equivalent  force.  He  said 
that  he  would  accept  of  nothing  that  sailed 
slow  or  was  of  trifling  force,  and,  finally,  that 
he  should  expect  a  reply  to  his  demands  im 
mediately,  and  that  it  would  afford  him  the 
truest  satisfaction,  if  his  honor  should  be  made 
whole,  and  the  misunderstanding  happily  re 
moved. 

Wearied  with  feeding  his  famished  hopes 
upon  no  more  substantial  aliment  then  the  de 
lusive  promises  of  men  in  power,  and  half 
frantic  with  impatience  at  such  prolonged  in- 


126  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

activity,  Jones  at  length  bethought  himself  of 
making  a  last  appeal  to  the  magnanimity  of 
the  sovereign.  He  accordingly  drew  up  a 
succinct  history  of  his  wrongs  in  a  letter  to 
the  Kins:  of  France,  which  he  enclosed  to  Dr. 

o  i 

Franklin,  to  be  placed  in  the  King's  hands  by 
the  Duke  de  Rochefoucauld  or  the  Duchess  of 
Chartres,  if  they  were  disposed  to  do  him  that 
kindness.  He  expressed  the  hope  that  Dr. 
Franklin  would  find  the  letter  to  the  King 
entirely  free  from  asperity  or  ill-nature.  He 
had  been,  and  was  still,  he  said,  in  the  eyes 
of  Brest  and  the  French  marine,  considered  as 
having  incurred  the  Doctor's  displeasure,  and 
being  consequently  in  disgrace.  The  Com 
missioners'  refusal  of  his  bill,  his  journey  to 
Paris  without  any  visible  reason;  the  cabals 
and  misrepresentations  of  Lieutenant  Simpson, 
and  his  long  inactivity,  were  held  to  be  so 
many  circumstantial  proofs  ;  and  his  dishonor 
was  now  so  firmly  believed  everywhere  that  it 
was  in  vain  for  him  to  attempt  any  defence  of 
himself.  Such  a  situation,  he  said,  destroyed 
his  peace  of  mind,  and  was  incompatible  with 
his  sensibility  ;  yet  he  was  far  more  affected 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  127 

by  the  indignity  that  had  been  thus  cast  up 
on  Dr.  Franklin  and  America,  than  on  his 
account.  His  heart  could  not  forgive  the  Min 
ister,  until  he  should  make  whole  his  injured 
honor,  by  a  direct  apology  and  atonement  for 
the  past. 

The  letter  to  the  King  is  written  with 
Jones's  characteristic  ability.  It  paid  due  hom 
age  to  the  virtues  of  the  sovereign,  and  forci 
bly  set  forth  the  services  which  he  himself 
had  rendered  to  the  common  cause,  his  claims 
to  distinction,  the  promises  which  had  been 
made  to  him  of  speedy  employment,  and  the 
way  in  which  those  promises  had  been  forfeit 
ed.  He  stated,  that,  after  he  had  given  up  the 
command  of  the  Ranger  and  remained  in 
France  at  the  express  request  of  M.  de  Sartine, 
that  Minister  had  not  even  condescended  to 
answer  his  letters,  also  that  the  Prince  of  Nas 
sau  had  treated  him  with  equal  incivility.  He 
begged  the  King  to  observe,  that  he  was  not 
an  adventurer  in  search  of  fortune,  of  which 
he  thanked  God  he  had  a  sufficiency.  When 
the  American  banner  was  first  displayed,  he 
had  drawn  his  sword  in  support  of  the  violated 


128  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

dignity  and  rights  of  human  nature ;  as  the 
King,  by  espousing  the  cause  of  America,  had 
become  the  protector  of  the  rights  of  human 
nature,  Jones  hoped  that  he  would  not  allow 
him  to  remain  any  longer  in  such  insupporta 
ble  inactivity. 

Owing  to  the  advice  of  Franklin,  and  the 
more  favorable  aspect  which  Jones's  prospects 
for  employment  began  about  this  time  to  as 
sume,  this  letter  was  not  delivered.  In  con 
sequence  of  the  influence  of  M.  le  Ray  de 
Chaumont,  M.  de  Sartine  had  determined  to 
purchase,  at  the  King's  expense,  the  best  armed 
ship  that  could  be  found,  to  be  fitted  out  under 
the  American  flag,  and  placed  under  the  com 
mand  of  Jones.  The  gentleman  who  had 
been  instrumental  in  effecting  this  favorable 
determination,  and  who  was  charged  with 
carrying  it  into  effect,  had  held  the  highly 
important  public  offices  of  Grand  Maitre  des 
Eaux  et  Forets  and  Intendant  of  the  Invalids. 
He  took  an  early  and  enthusiastic  interest  in 
the  success  of  our  Revolution,  and  not  only 
aided  us  by  his  influence  at  court,  but  freely 
placed  his  large  fortune  at  the  disposal  of  our 


LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  129 

government  by  furnishing  large  quantities  of 
military  stores,  for  which  he  only  asked  to  be 
repaid  when  our  independence  should  be  fully 
established.  He,  moreover,  courteously  placed 
his  magnificent  hotel  at  Passy,  with  all  its 
furniture,  at  the  disposal  of  the  American 
Commissioners,  while  they  resided  at  the  cap 
ital  in  secret  relation  with  the  government, 
but  without  being  recognised.  When  subse 
quently  called  upon  by  John  Adams,  to  state 
what  rent  the  Commissioners  were  to  pay,  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  not  reasonable  that  the 
United  States  should  be  under  so  great  an  ob 
ligation  to  a  private  gentleman,  he  courteous 
ly  replied,  that,  when  he  had  consecrated  his 
house  to  Dr.  Franklin  and  his  associates,  he 
had  made  it  to  be  fully  understood  that  he 
should  expect  no  compensation  ;  because  he 
perceived  that  they  had  need  of  all  their 
means  to  send  to  the  succour  of  their  country, 
or  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  their  countrymen 
escaping  from  the  chains  of  their  enemies. 
He  begged  that  this  arrangement,  which  he 
had  made  when  the  fate  of  our  country  was 
doubtful,  might  be  permitted  to  remain.  When 
VOL.  i.  9 


130  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

she  should  enjoy  all  her  splendor,  such  services 
on  his  part,  would  be  superfluous  and  unwor 
thy  of  her ;  but  at  present  they  might  be  use 
ful,  and  he  felt  most  happy  in  offering  them. 
There  was  no  occasion,  he  said,  for  strangers 
to  be  informed  of  his  proceeding  in  this  re 
spect.  It  was  so  much  the  worse  for  those 
who  would  not  do  the  same  if  they  had  the 
opportunity,  and  so  much  the  better  for  him 
to  have  immortalized  his  house  by  receiving 
into  it  Dr.  Franklin  and  his  associates. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  gentleman 
who  was  charged  with  carrying  the  intentions 
of  the  government  into  effect  with  regard  to 
Jones ;  who  wrote  to  him  begging  him  to 
buy  a  frigate  that  sailed  fast  and  was  suffi 
ciently  large  to  carry  twenty-six  or  twenty- 
eight  guns,  not  less  then  twelve-pounders,  on 
one  deck.  "  I  wish,"  he  says,  "  to  have  no 
connexion  with  any  ship  that  does  not  sail 
fast,  for  I  intend  to  go  in  harm's  way."  A 
vexatious  delay,  however,  of  three  months  still 
continued  to  annoy  Jones,  and  make  him  al 
most  beside  himself  with  impatience.  During 
this  period  of  expectation,  he  wrote  a  letter  to 


yEr.  31.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  131 

Mr.  Arthur  Lee,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  in 
reply  to  a  charge  of  disrespect  made  by  that 
gentleman  against  Jones  while  transmitting 
some  inquiries  about  the  Ranger's  prizes ; 
which  letter  no  doubt  served  as  a  great  relief 
to  his  irritation.  It  is  remarkable,  not  only  as 
throwing  light  upon  this  period  of  history,  but 
also  as  showing  that  the  tone  of  respectful  en 
treaty  in  which  he  habitually  addressed  men 
in  power,  while  soliciting  to  be  placed  in  a 
position  to  meet  danger  and  win  glory,  had 
not  its  origin  in  an  over  obsequious  or  servile 
spirit,  and  that  he  could  occasionally,  when 
offended  by  one  of  these,  retort  with  bitter 
ness  and  sarcasm. 

After  furnishing  the  information  required  of 
him,  and  referring  to  a  letter  to  the  Commis 
sioners,  in  which  he  had  previously  trans 
mitted  a  full  report  on  the  subject,  he  defend 
ed  himself  from  the  charge  of  disrespect,  and 
then  proceeded  to  active  recrimination  against 
Mr.  Lee.  He  charged  Mr.  Lee  with  having 
concurred  in  dishonoring  his  draft  on  the 
Commissioners  for  funds  to  pay  his  crew, 
when  he  was  aware  of  the  obligation  which 


132  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

Jones  had  personally  entered  into  with  them 
at  the  time  of  their  enlistment,  of  which  fact 
the  other  Commissioners  were  ignorant.  In 
consequence  of  this  dishonor  of  his  draft,  he 
had  found  himself,  for  more  than  a  month, 
destitute  of  funds,  with  a  ship,  disabled  after  a 
severe  engagement,  to  be  put  in  order,  an  al 
most  naked  crew  to  be  clothed,  and  a  large 
number  of  wounded,  and  two  hundred  pris 
oners  of  war,  to  be  provided  for.  In  reply  to 
a  second  charge  of  disrespect  brought  against 
him  by  Mr.  Lee,  who  had  refused  to  furnish 
copies  of  some  documents  which  Jones  had 
asked  for,  he  thus  indignantly  defends  himself. 
"  You  objected  to  my  receiving  copies  of  some 
papers  that  concern  me,  because  you  thought 
that  I  had  not  made  a  respectful  application. 
A  copy  of  it  is  enclosed,  which,  though  not 
in  the  form  of  an  humble  petition,  I  believe 
it  will  be  difficult  to  construe  into  disrespect. 
True  respect  can  never  be  extorted ;  and  I 
will  say  of  myself,  that 

'  The  tribute  of  respect  to  greatness  due 
Not  the  bribed  sycophant  more  freely  pays.'  " 

Jones's  indulgence  in  this  honest  outbreak  of 


>ET.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  133 

indignation,  and  the  doubtful  compliment  con 
veyed  in  his  quotation,  cost  him  very  dear,  as 
we  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

Months  rolled  on  without  producing  any  re 
sults  from  M.  de  Sartine's  "  final  determina 
tion  "  to  furnish  Paul  Jones  with  a  ship.  He 
had  been  instructed  to  look  out  for  a  suitable 
one  ;  but,  though  he  saw  several  that  might  be 
purchased,  some  difficulty  perpetually  present 
ed  itself  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  wishes.  Hav 
ing  made  a  visit  to  L'Orient,  he  found  there 
an  uncommonly  fine  eighty-four  gun  ship, 
called  the  Marechal  de  Broglie,  which  was  for 
sale,  but  he  doubted  his  ability  to  man  her  ; 
there  was  also  a  small  frigate,  called  the  Alert, 
which  had  been  taken  from  the  English,  and 
which  he  was  willing  to  accept ;  and  an  India- 
man,  fourteen  years  old,  called  the  Due  de 
Dura-Sj  which  he  also  thought  might  answer 
in  the  absence  of  a  better  one.  Though 
ships  were  thus  found,  and  a  solemn  promise 
had  been  made,  still  no  order  had  yet  been  is 
sued  by  M.  de  Sartine  for  the  actual  purchase 
of  one. 

While   in  this  weary   state   of  suspense,   a 


134  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

prey  to  impatience,  anxiety,  and  mortification, 
Jones  happened  one  day  to  be  looking  over  an 
old  number  of  Franklin's  Pennsylvania  Alma 
nac,  when  his  attention  was  struck  with  the 
saying  of  Poor  Richard  •  "If  you  would  have 
your  business  done,  go  ;  if  not,  send."  It 
immediately  occurred  to  him,  that  the  delay 
of  his  own  business  was  in  no  slight  degree 

o  O 

owing  to  his  having  so  long  remained  at  a 
distance,  sending  letters  to  court,  instead  of 
going  to  attend  to  it  in  person.  He  set  out 
forthwith  for  the  capital,  and  made  such  good 
speed  in  his  errand,  that,  ere  many  days  had 
elapsed,  he  received  from  the  reluctant  M.  de 
Sartine,  the  following  conclusive  letter,  dated 
at  Versailles,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1779. 

"  To  John  Paul  Jones,  Esq.,  Commander  of 

the  American  Navy  in  Europe. 
"  Sir,  I  announce  to  you  that,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  exposition  I  have  laid  before  the 
King,  of  the  distinguished  manner  in  which 
you  have  served  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  entire  confidence  which  your  conduct 
has  merited  from  Congress,  his  Majesty  has 


JET.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  135 

thought  proper  to  place  you  in  command  of 
the  ship  Duras  of  forty  guns,  at  present  at 
L'Orient.  I  am  about,  in  consequence,  to  is 
sue  the  necessary  orders  for  the  complete  ar 
mament  of  that  ship.  The  commission,  which 
was  given  to  you  at  your  departure  from 
America,  will  authorize  you  to  hoist  the  flag 
of  the  United  States,  and  you  will  likewise 
make  use  of  the  authority  which  has  been 
vested  in  you  to  procure  a  crew  of  Americans  ; 
but,  as  you  may  find  difficulty  in  raising  a  suf 
ficient  number,  the  King  permits  you  to  levy 
volunteers,  until  you  obtain  men  enough  in 
addition  to  those  who  will  be  necessary  to  sail 
the  ship.  It  shall  be  my  care  to  procure  the 
necessary  officers,  and  you  may  be  assured  that 
I  shall  contribute  every  aid  in  my  power  to 
promote  the  success  of  your  enterprise. 

"  As  soon  as  you  are  prepared  for  sea,  you 
will  set  sail  without  waiting  for  any  ulterior 
orders  ;  and  you  will  yourself  select  your  own 
cruising  ground,  either  in  the  European  or 
American  seas,  observing  always  to  render  me 
an  exact  account  of  each  event  that  may  take 
place  during  your  cruise,  as  often  as  you  may 


136  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1778. 

enter  any  port  under  the  dominion  of  the 
King.  So  flattering  a  mark  of  the  confidence 
with  which  you  are  honored,  cannot  but  en 
courage  you  to  use  all  your  zeal  in  the  com 
mon  cause  ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  you  will 
justify,  on  every  occasion,  my  favorable  opin 
ion  of  you.  It  only  remains  for  me  to  recom 
mend  to  you  to  show  to  those  prisoners,  who 
may  fall  into  your  hands,  those  sentiments  of 
humanity  which  the  King  professes  towards 
his  enemies,  and  to  take  the  greatest  care,  not 
only  of  your  own  crew,  but  also  of  all  the 
ships  which  may  be  placed  under  your  or 
ders.  According  to  your  desire,  I  consent  that 
the  Duras  take  the  name  of  the  Bon  Horn- 
me  Richard" 

Feeling  that  his  final  success  in  obtaining  a 
command  had  been  owing  to  his  having  adopt 
ed  the  good  advice  which  he  had  met  with  in 
Dr.  Franklin's  Almanac,  and  out  of  compli 
ment  to  the  sage,  for  whom  his  veneration  was 
so  unbounded,  Paul  Jones  had  asked  leave, 
as  appears  by  M.  Sartine's  letter,  to  give  the 
ship  of  which  the  command  was  now  confer- 


.ET.  31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  137 

red  upon  him,  the  name  of  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  the  Poor  Richard ;  a  name  which 
his  heroism  was  destined  to  render  as  enduring 
as  his  own. 


138  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Object  of  the  French  Government  in  giving  Jones  a  Command. — 
Arrival  of  the  Alliance  frigate  in  France.  —  She  is  added  to  the 
Expedition.  —  Lafayette  proposes  joining  it.  —  Force  and  Char 
acter  of  the  Squadron.  —  Advice  of  Franklin  to  Jones  with  Re 
gard  to  Cooperation.  — Instructions  for  the  Cruise. —Treatment 
of  Prisoners.  —  Jones's  Gratification  with  his  Instructions. — 
Object  of  the  Expedition  changed. — Lafayette  withdraws,  to 
join  in  the  Invasion  of  England. — The  Squadron  is  employed 
in  Convoys.  —  The  Richard  and  the  Alliance  get  foul.  —  The 
Richard  is  damaged.  —  The  Squadron  returns  to  refit.  —  Orders 
for  a  new  Cruise.  — Mutinous  Spirit  of  the  Richard's  Crew.  — 
Agreement  entered  into  by  all  the  Commanders.  —  Cause  of  fu 
ture  Contention.  —  Mixed  Character  of  the  Expedition. 

THE  original  object  of  the  French  govern 
ment  in  employing  Jones,  and  furnishing  him 
with  a  naval  command,  seems  to  have  been  to 
take  advantage,  not  only  of  his  brilliant  cour 
age  and  seaman-like  skill,  but  also  of  his  com 
mission  as  an  American  officer,  and  of  the 
American  flag  which  he  was  entitled  to  dis 
play,  to  carry  on  a  more  harassing  system  of 
warfare  on  the  British  coasts  than  they  would 
have  been  justified  in  doing  under  their  own 
flag.  Jones's  favorite  system,  from  the  first, 
had  been  to  retaliate  for  the  burnings  and  de- 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  139 

vastation  with  which  the  British  had  visited 
our  shores  ;  and,  as  the  observance  hitherto  of 
civilized  rules  of  warfare  had  prevented  them 
from  enacting  the  same  scenes  on  the  coast  of 
France,  the  coasts  of  England  could  be  more 
effectually  annoyed  under  the  American  flag. 
In  addition  to  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  four 
or  five  vessels  of  inferior  force,  two  of  them 
being  fire-ships,  were  to  be  placed  under  the 
command  of  Jones,  and  a  body  of  five  hun 
dred  picked  men,  taken  from  the  Irish  brigade, 
were  to  embark  under  the  immediate  orders 
of  the  Chevalier  Fitz-Maurice.  The  object 
of  this  expedition  was  to  destroy  the  shipping 
and  town  of  Liverpool.  M.  le  Ray  de  Chau- 
mont  was  appointed  the  confidential  agent  of 
the  French  government  for  the  equipment  of 
the  squadron,  and  had  charge  of  all  the  pur 
chases. 

The  moment  that  Jones  received  his  ap 
pointment,  releasing  him  from  such  long  inac 
tivity,  he  bestirred  himself  in  his  preparations 
with  characteristic  zeal.  He  proceeded  forth 
with  to  Nantes,  to  engage  seamen  from  among 
the  Americans  captured  on  board  of  English 


140  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

ships.  The  sailors  were  pleased  with  the 
name  of  the  Poor  Richard,  and  entered  read 
ily.  Jones,  too,  had  a  very  persuasive  way 
with  sailors,  and  would  walk  for  an  hour  on 
the  pier  with  a  single  sailor  whom  he  was  de 
sirous  of  securing,  and  rarely  failed  of  success. 
About  this  time  Lafayette  arrived  from  the 
United  States  in  the  Alliance,  a  new  American 
frigate  of  thirty-six  guns,  which  had  been 
named  out  of  compliment  to  the  recent  alli 
ance  with  France.  With  the  same  friendly 
motive  towards  that  nation,  the  command  of 
her  was  conferred  on  a  Frenchman,  by  the 
name  of  Pierre  Landais,  who  had  recently  ar 
rived  in  the  United  States,  as  master  of  a  mer 
chant  ship  laden  with  military  stores.  Accord 
ing  to  a  subsequent  statement  of  Jones,  Lan 
dais  obtained  the  command  by  representing, 
that  he  had  been  a  captain  in  the  French  na 
vy,  had  commanded  a  ship  of  the  line,  and  held 
an  important  station  in  the  arsenal  at  Brest ; 
moreover,  that  the  estimation  in  which  he  was 
held  in  his  own  country  would  have  enabled 
him  to  choose  whatever  honorable  station  he 
was  willing  to  accept ;  but  his  desire  to  serve 


^Er.31.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  141 

America  had  induced  him  to  abandon  his 
country,  and  even  to  refuse  the  cross  of  St. 
Louis,  that  he  might  be  free  to  abjure  the  re 
ligion  of  his  forefathers.  Landais  had,  in  fact, 
belonged  to  the  French  navy ;  but  he  forgot 
to  mention  the  material  circumstance  of  his 
having  been  dismissed  from  it  on  account  of 
infirmity  of  temper.  Congress,  having  thus 
received  the  impression  that  Landais  was  in 
favor  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  thought  to 
pay  that  court  an  additional  compliment  by 
appointing  him  to  the  command  of  the  Alli 
ance.  On  the  passage  out,  he  had  betrayed  ut 
ter  professional  incompetence,  coupled  with  a 
fitful  irritability  of  temper  which  had  thor 
oughly  disgusted  everybody.  A  mutiny  was 
concerted  among  some  Englishmen  of  the 
crew,  who  designed  taking  the  ship  into  Eng 
land,  and  narrowly  failed  of  success  ;  which 
the  exertions  of  Lafayette  greatly  aided  in 
preventing. 

Lafayette,  having  heard  of  the  projected  ex 
pedition  under  Paul  Jones,  immediately  con 
ceived  a  desire  to  take  part  in  it.  His  wish 
being  encouraged  by  the  Court,  Jones  was 


142  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

summoned  to  Paris  to  consult  on  the  projected 
change  in  the  expedition,  consequent  upon  the 
accession  of  Lafayette.  It  was  decided  that 
Lafayette  should  embark  with  a  body  of  seven 
hundred  picked  men,  assigned  to  him  by  the 
King.  Franklin  having  received  his  creden 
tials  as  ambassador  by  the  Alliance,  Jones  ap 
plied  to  him  to  add  that  fine  and  uncommonly 
fast  frigate  to  his  squadron,  and,  the  French 
government  having  joined  in  the  request,  it 
was  readily,  though  as  it  afterwards  proved,  in 
an  evil  hour,  granted. 

"     D 

Some  idea  of  the  character  of  this  arma 
ment  may  be  drawn  from  the  following  ex 
tract  from  Jones's  Journal  for  the  King,  though 
he  doubtless  exaggerates  the  real  defects  of 
his  force  in  order  to  magnify  the  glory  which 
he  subsequently  won  with  it.  "  The  cannon 
had  not  arrived  for  the  Bon  Homme  Richard, 
and  she  was  in  great  haste  mounted  with  a 
battery  of  indifferent  twelve-pounders.  Six 
old-fashioned  long  eighteen-pounders  were 
mounted  in  the  gun-room ;  and  ports  were 
cut  to  fight  them,  six  on  one  side.  Thus, 
with  the  guns  on  the  quarter-deck  and  fore- 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  143 

castle,  the  Bon  Horn/me  Richard  mounted 
forty  guns;  and,  with  the  Alliance  of  thirty- 
six,  the  Pallas  of  thirty-two,  the  Ccrf  of 
eighteen,  and  the  Vengeance  of  twelve,  com 
posed  the  little  squadron.  A  crew  was  hasti 
ly  procured  for  the  Bon  Plomnic  Richard 
from  among  the  English  prisoners,  and  hy  en 
listing  raw  French  peasants  and  volunteers. 
Captain  Jones  had  not  more  than  thirty  Amer 
icans  among  the  crew.  In  the  Alliance  there 
had  been  a  mutiny  on  the  passage  from  Amer 
ica,  and  the  captain  and  officers  were  ready 
to  cut  one  another's  throats.  The  first  and 
second  lieutenants  deserted.  The  Pallas,  a 
merchant  ship,  had  been  built  for  the  King, 
and  hastily  fitted  at  Nantes.  The  Vengeance 
was  bought  by  the  Commissary,  and  fitted  in 
the  same  manner.  The  Cerf,  a  fine  cutter, 
was  alone  well  fitted  and  manned." 

In  the  belief  that  Lafayette  would  take  part 
with  Jones  in  the  expedition,  Franklin  ad 
dressed  to  the  latter  some  admirable  advice, 
to  regulate  their  conduct  towards  each  other 
while  acting  together.  He  remarked,  that  it 
had  been  observed  that  joint  expeditions  of 


144  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

land  and  sea  forces,  often  miscarry  through 
jealousies  and  misunderstandings  between  the 
officers  of  the  different  corps.  This,  he  said, 
must  happen  where  there  were  little  minds, 
actuated  more  by  personal  views  of  profit  or 
honor  to  themselves,  then  by  a  sincere  desire 
of  good  to  their  country.  Knowing  both  La 
fayette  and  Jones  as  he  did,  he  felt  confident 
that  nothing  of  the  kind  could  happen  be 
tween  them,  and  that  it  was  therefore  unne 
cessary  for  him  to  recommend  to  either  of 
them  that  condescension,  mutual  good  will, 
and  harmony,  which  contribute  so  much  to 
success  in  such  undertakings.  He  said,  that 
he  looked  upon  this  expedition  as  an  introduc 
tion  to  more  extensive  commands,  and  as  a 
kind  of  trial  of  their  abilities,  and  fitness  in 
temper  and  dispositions  for  acting  in  concert 
with  others,  and  therefore  felt  assured  that 
nothing  would  happen  that  could  give  impres 
sions  to  their  disadvantage,  when  greater  af 
fairs  should  come  under  consideration.  As 
the  Marquis  was  a  major-general  in  our  ser 
vice,  he  of  course  was  superior  in  rank,  and 
must  have  the  entire  command  of  the  land 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   J01NES.  145 

forces,  committed  by  the  King  to  his  care ; 
but  the  command  of  the  ships  was  to  belong 
wholly  to  Jones,  in  which  Franklin  felt  per 
suaded,  that,  whatever  authority  Lafayette's 
rank  might  in  strictness  give  him,  he  would 
not  have  the  least  desire  to  interfere.  There 
was  honor  enough,  he  said,  to  be  got  for  both, 
if  the  expedition  was  conducted  with  a  pru 
dent  unanimity. 

The  letter  concerning  Lafayette  was  accom 
panied  by  instructions  most  creditable  to  the 
heart  of  the  sage,  and  to  the  country  which 
he  represented.  After  directing  the  manner  in 
which  the  squadron  was  to  cooperate  with  the 
land  forces,  he  proceeded  to  give  directions  for 
the  treatment  of  prisoners,  and  of  captured 
towns,  in  honorable  contrast  with  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  enemy  on  our  own  coast. 
When  they  became  known  to  the  British  pub 
lic,  they  called  forth  everywhere  unmeasured 
commendation,  and  threw  no  little  discredit 
on  the  ministry. 

"  You  are  to  bring  to  France  all  the  Eng 
lishmen  you  may  happen  to  take  prisoners, 
in  order  to  complete  the  good  work  you  have 

VOL.   i.  10 


146  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

already  made  such  progress  in,  of  delivering 
by  an  exchange  the  rest  of  our  countrymen 
now  languishing  in  the  jails  of  Great  Brit 
ain.  As  many  of  your  officers  and  people 
have  lately  escaped  from  English  prisons, 
either  in  Europe  or  America,  you  are  to  be 
particularly  attentive  to  their  conduct  towards 
the  prisoners,  whom  the  fortune  of  war  may 
throw  into  your  hands,  lest  resentment  of  the 
more  than  barbarous  usage  by  the  English  in 
many  places  towards  the  Americans  should 
occasion  a  retaliation,  and  an  imitation  of 
what  ought  rather  to  be  detested  and  avoided, 
for  the  sake  of  humanity  and  for  the  honor  of 
our  country.  In  the  same  view,  although 
the  English  have  wantonly  burnt  many  de 
fenceless  towns  in  America,  you  are  not  to 
follow  this  example,  unless  when  a  reasonable 
ransom  is  refused,  in  which  case  your  own 
generous  feelings,  as  well  as  this  instruction, 
will  induce  you  to  give  timely  notice  of  your 
intention,  that  sick  and  ancient  persons,  wo 
men  and  children,  may  be  first  removed." 

Jones  received  this  admirable  counsel,  and 
these  enlightened  orders,  in   the   same   high- 


JET.  31.]  LIFE   OF  PAUL   JONES.  147 

minded  spirit  in  which  they  were  conceived. 
In  replying  to  a  letter  from  Lafayette,  which 
had  accompanied  them,  and  in  which  he  had 
announced  his  intention  of  taking  part  in  the 
cruise,  Jones  professed  his  readiness  to  cooper 
ate  heartily  with  him,  and  assured  him  that  so 
flattering  a  proof  of  his  esteem  and  friendship 
had  made  an  impression  on  his  mind  that 
would  attend  him  while  he  lived.  And  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  he  wrote,  that  the  letter  he  had  re 
ceived  from  him,  together  with  his  liberal  in 
structions,  would  make  a  coward  brave.  He 
told  him  that  he  had  called  up  every  senti 
ment  of  public  virtue  in  his  breast,  and  it 
should  be  his  pride  and  ambition,  in  the  pur 
suit  of  his  instructions,  to  deserve  success. 
Pew  prospects,  he  said,  could  afford  him  so 
true  a  satisfaction  as  that  of  rendering  some 
acceptable  service  to  the  common  cause,  and 
at  the  same  time  of  relieving  from  captivity 
his  unfortunate  fellow  countrymen  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy. 

At  this  conjuncture,  Spain  was  on  the  point 
of  joining  in  the  alliance  against  England,  and 
hopes  were  conceived  of  obtaining  the  mas- 


148  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

tery  of  the  seas  by  the  junction  of  the  French 
and  Spanish  fleets,  so  as  to  cover  an  invasion 
of  England,  for  which  preparations  were  made 
on  a  grand  scale  in  the  adjacent  provinces  of 
France.  It  was  to  take  part  in  this  meditated 
grand  invasion,  that  Lafayette  was  withrawn 
from  the  humbler  expedition  of  Jones's  ;  which 
was  in  reality  more  formidable,  because  it  was 
more  likely  to  take  effect. 

The  expedition  being  thus  abandoned,  it 
was  desirable  to  find  employment  for  this  ex 
pensive  armament,  and,  instead  of  the  daring 
project  of  destroying  Liverpool  and  its  ship 
ping,  Jones  was  assigned  to  the  less  congenial 
service  of  driving  the  enemy's  cruisers  out  of 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  giving  convoy  to  ves 
sels  bound  from  port  to  port  along  the  coast. 
He  sailed  from  L' Orient  on  this  service  on  the 
19th  of  June.  In  the  night  of  the  20th,  the 
Bon  Homme  Richard  and  Alliance  got  foul  of 
each  other,  by  which  accident,  the  former  lost 
her  head,  cut- water,  jib-boom,  and  spritsail- 
yard,  and  the  latter  her  mizen-mast.  The 
character  of  Captain  Landais,  which  had  ex 
hibited  itself  in  a  very  odious  light  on  the 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  149 

passage  out  from  America,  and  which  in  his 
new  association  had  already  begun  to  show 
the  jealousy,  insubordination,  and  braggart  in 
solence  which  belonged  to  it,  led  to  the  im 
pression  that  the  collision  was  not  avoided  by 
him.  As.  however,  the  lieutenant  of  the  Bon 
Hommc  Richard,  who  had  the  watch  at  the 
time,  was  subsequently  broken  for  his  conduct 
on  this  occasion,  the  blame  could  not  have 
belonged  wholly  to  Landais ;  though  he,  it 
seemed,  behaved  infamously  at  the  time  ;  for 
it  was  solemnly  attested  by  the  officers  of  the 
squadron,  that,  instead  of  giving  the  neces 
sary  orders  to  prevent  the  collision,  and  after 
wards  remaining  on  deck  to  assist  in  the  ex 
trication  of  his  ship,  he  went  below  to  load 
his  pistols.  The  base  desertion  of  his  station 
at  a  critical  moment,  when  the  fate  of  his  ship 
was  at  hazard,  showed  a  shrinking  from  duty 
and  responsibility,  and  a  want  of  presence  of 
mind,  whilst  the  search  for  his  pistols,  real  or 
affected,  to  be  used  against  his  commanding 
officer,  evinced  a  braggart  disposition  to  shed 
blood,  which  was  doubtless  assumed  to  cover 
the  timidity  with  which  the  jeopardy  of  his 


150  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

ship  had  affected  him.  This  anecdote  will  be 
found  very  characteristic  of  the  man  in  after 
scenes  of  much  greater  peril. 

On  the  last  day  of  June,  Jones  returned  to 
L'Orient  to  repair  the  damages  sustained  in 
his  collision  with  the  Alliance.  During  this 
cruise,  he  transmitted  a  draft  for  thirty  pounds 
for  the  use  of  his  relations.  It  was  sent  cir- 
cuitously  through  a  friend  in  Dublin,  under  a 
feigned  name,  but,  from  some  accident  or  dis 
honesty,  never  reached  its  destination.  Soon 
after  his  return  to  L'Orient,  he  received  in 
structions  from  Dr.  Franklin  with  regard  to 
his  future  movements.  He  was  directed  to 
proceed,  with  the  vessels  under  his  command, 
to  the  west  coast  of  Ireland,  and  cruise  off  the 
Orcades,  the  Cape  of  Derneus,  and  the  Dogger 
Bank,  in  order  to  take  the  enemy's  property 
in  those  seas.  All  prizes  were  to  be  sent  to 
Dunkirk,  Ostend,  or  Bergen  in  Norway,  ac 
cording  to  the  proximity  of  either  of  those 
ports,  and  be  addressed  to  the  persons  M.  de 
Chaumont  should  name.  About  the  15th  of 
August,  he  was  directed  to  proceed  to  the 
Texel,  where  he  would  find  further  orders. 


JEr.  31.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  151 

In  writing  to  Franklin  on  his  return  to 
L'Orient,  Jones  returned  to  the  old  theme,  his 
desire  to  obtain  the  command  of  the  Indicn, 
and  stated,  that  if  the  Court  was  still  disposed 
to  give  him  that  ship,  he  thought  he  could 
make  a  useful  cruise  towards  the  Texel  with 
the  force  now  under  his  command,  and  after 
wards  bring  that  ship  out  with  the  crew  he 
now  had.  He  found  great  fault  with  the  dull 
sailing  of  the  old  Bon  Homme  Richard,  and 
her  defects  of  every  description.  Franklin's 
reply  betrays  as  much  gentle  impatience  as  the 
sage  was  probably  capable  of  feeling.  He  said 
he  had  no  other  orders  to  give  :  for,  as  the 
Court  was  at  the  chief  expense,  he  thought 
they  had  the  best  right  to  direct.  When  a 
thing  had  been  once  determined  on  in  Council, 
they  do  not  care  to  resume  the  consideration 
of  it,  having  much  business  on  hand,  and  no 
time  for  reconsideration.  By  way  of  comfort, 
however,  he  mentioned  in  confidence  that  the 
cruise  had  been  ordered  to  terminate  at  the 
Texel,  with  the  view  of  getting  out  the  In- 
dien. 

During  Jones's  short  cruise  in  the   Bay  of 


152  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Biscay,  a  mutinous  spirit  had  exhibited  itself 
among  the  Englishmen  of  his  crew,  who  had 
entered  the  service  as  Americans,  in  order  to 
escape  from  prison,  and  in  the  hope,  perhaps, 
of  afterwards  returning  to  the  allegiance  of 
their  own  flag.  Two  quarter-masters  were 
implicated  as  ringleaders  in  a  conspiracy  to 
take  the  ship.  It  was  necessary  to  hold  a 
court-martial  for  the  trial  of  these  offenders  ; 
and  a  knowledge  of  these  circumstances,  thus 
reaching  M.  de  Sartine,  created  a  distrust  with 
regard  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  which  gave  Jones  great  annoyance. 
The  result  of  the  court-martial  was,  that  the 
quarter-masters  were  severely  whipped,  instead 
of  being  condemned  to  death,  as  Jones,  from 
a  letter  written  about  this  period,  seems  to 
have  apprehended.  As  a  cartel  arrived  at 
Nantes  with  one  hundred  and  nineteen  Amer 
ican  prisoners  at  this  conjuncture,  and  efforts 
were  made  to  enter  them  for  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  it  is  probable  that  the  character  of 
her  crew  was  much  improved  before  she  again 
put  to  sea.  At  the  request  of  M.  de  Sartine, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  de  Chamillard  de  Warville 


jEx.32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  153 

was  received  on  board  of  the  Richard  as 
commander  of  marines,  and  the  cruise  was 
also  extended  so  as  to  take  in  the  whole  of 
September. 

Before  the  squadron  put  to  sea,  M.  le  Ray 
de  Chaumont  produced  an  agreement  for  the 
signature  of  Jones,  and  the  other  commanders, 
in  conformity  with  an  intimation  which  he 
had  made  to  him  two  months  previously,  that 
such  a  document  would  be  required.  By  this 
agreement,  styled  a  concordat,  the  five  cap 
tains,  Jones,  Landais,  Cottineau,  Varage,  and 
Ricot,  bound  themselves,  unless  detached  from 
the  squadron  by  order  of  the  Minister  of  Ma 
rine,  to  act  together  by  virtue  of  the  commis 
sion  which  they  had  received  from  the  United 
States.  In  the  event  of  the  death  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  the  officer  next  in  rank 
was  to  succeed  him.  The  division  of  prize- 
money  to  the  crews  was  to  be  regulated  by 
the  American  laws ;  but  the  proportion  of 
each  vessel  was  to  be  decided  by  the  French 
Minister  of  Marine  and  the  American  Ambas 
sador,  under  whose  joint  orders  the  squadron 
acted.  A  copy  of  the  American  laws  was  an- 


154  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

nexed  to  the  concordat.  All  prizes  were  to 
be  consigned  to  M.  le  Ray  de  Chaumont, 
who  furnished  the  expenses  of  the  armament. 
He  was  not  to  pay  the  prize-money  of  any 
individual  of  the  squadron  except  to  his  or 
der,  and  was  to  be  personally  responsible  to 
each  for  the  amount  of  his  share.  Armed 
vessels,  whether  French  or  American,  could 
unite  with  the  squadron  by  mutual  consent. 

Though  Jones  signed  this  paper,  he  subse 
quently  made  it  the  subject  of  bitter  com 
plaint.  He  ascribed  to  it  most  of  the  discord 
and  insubordination  which  occurred  during  the 
cruise  ;  and  no  doubt  the  novel  feature,  in  a 
military  expedition,  of  the  inferior  commanders 
becoming  parties  to  an  agreement,  by  which 
the  commander-in-chief  was  also  bound,  in 
stead  of  being  subject  to  his  unconditional  or 
ders,  contributed  to  the  disorder  of  which  the 
discordant  materials  composing  the  expedition 
were  likely  to  be  in  themselves  sufficiently 
productive.  In  the  Eon  Homme  Richard, 
whilst  the  commander  was  by  birth  a  Scotch 
man,  a  part  of  his  officers  were  American  and 
a  part  French.  Of  his  crew,  one  third  might 


^ET.  32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  155 

be  Americans,  half  of  the  remainder  English 
men,  and  the  rest  French  volunteers,  to  act  as 
marines,  and  guard  the  doubtful  fidelity  of 
the  English,  who  had  entered  to  escape  from 
prison.  The  captain  of  the  Alliance  was  a 
Frenchman,  by  character  jealous,  irritable,  in 
competent,  and  treacherous,  whilst  his  officers 
and  crew  were  all  Americans.  Of  the  other 
vessels,  the  officers  and  crews  were  entirely 
French,  though  all  bore  equally  the  flag,  and 
acted  under  the  commission,  of  the  United 
States.  As  the  squadron  was  about  to  pot  to 
sea,  it  was  joined  by  two  privateers,  the  Mon 
sieur  of  forty  guns,  and  the  Grandville  of 
fourteen.  The  two  privateers  did  not,  how 
ever,  enter  into  the  concordat,  but  remained 
in  company  by  voluntary  agreement. 


156  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Departure  of  the  Squadron  from  L'Orient.  —  Incipient  Insubordi 
nation. —  A  Privateer  parts  Company. — Makes  the  Coast  of 
Ireland.  —  Desertion  of  the  Richard's  Barge.  —  Loss  of  another 
Boat. — Insolence  of  Landais  of  the  Alliance. —  Desertion  of 
two  Vessels.  —  The  Squadron  encounters  a  severe  Gale.  —  Sep 
aration  of  Ships.  — The  Richard  passes  between  Scotland  and 
the  Western  Isles.  —  Falls  in  with  the  Alliance  off  Cape  Wrath. 

—  Capture  of  two  valuable  Prizes.  — They  are  sent  to  Norway. 

—  Renewed  Insolence  of  Landais.  — The  Alliance  parts  Com 
pany.  —  The  Squadron  off  the  Firth  of  Forth.  —  Project  of  a 
Descent  upon  Leith.  —  His  Captains  oppose  the  Enterprise. — 
They  yield  their  Consent.  —  The  Squadron  enters  the  Firth. — 
Is  taken  for  an  English  Force. —  Request  sent  to  Jones  for  Am 
munition. —  Summons  prepared  for  Leith.  —  Approach  to  Kirk- 
aldy.  —Prayer  of  Mr.  Shirra.  —Gale  out  of  the  Firth. —  The 
Squadron  driven  off.  —  Project  against  Hull  and  New  Castle.  — 
Evils  of  the  Concordat. 

HAVING  issued  general  orders  for  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  different  commanders,  assigned 
to  each  vessel  its  station  in  the  order  of  sail 
ing,  and  appointed  two  points  of  rendezvous 
in  case  of  separation,  Jones  put  to  sea  from 
L'Orient  on  the  14th  of  August,  1779.  His 
squadron  amounted,  with  the  two  privateers, 
to  seven  sail  ;  a  force,  he  says,  "  which  might 
have  effected  great  services  and  done  infinite 
injury  to  the  enemy,  had  there  been  secrecy 


Mi.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  157 

and  due  subordination.  Unfortunately  there 
was  neither.  Captain  Jones  saw  his  danger  ; 
but,  his  reputation  being  at  stake,  he  put  all 
to  the  hazard." 

On  the  18th,  the  squadron  recaptured  a  large 
Dutch  ship  which  had  been  taken  a  few  days 
before  by  an  English  privateer.  The  captain 
of  the  Monsieur,  which  was  the  boarding  ves 
sel,  took  a  number  of  articles  out  of  this  prize, 
and,  then  manning  her,  ordered  her  into  port, 
without  reference  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
who  was  in  sight.  Jones,  however,  counter 
manded  the  orders,  and  despatched  her  for 
L'Orient,  which  doubtless  gave  offence  to  the 
captain  of  the  Monsieur,  as  he  disappeared 
that  evening,  and  did  not  rejoin  the  squadron. 

On  the  23d,  the  squadron  made  Cape  Clear, 
the  extreme  southern  point  of  Ireland,  having 
taken  several  prizes  on  the  passage.  It  being 
calm,  Jones  sent  his  boats  in-shore  to  capture 
a  brigantine.  Soon  after  it  became  necessary 
to  lower  the  barge,  and  send  her  ahead  to  tow, 
so  as  to  keep  the  ship  from  drifting  into  a  dan 
gerous  bay.  At  dusk,  the  barge's  crew  cut 
the  tow  line  and  pulled  for  the  shore.  Sev- 


158  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

eral  shots  were  fired  without  effect,  and  Mr. 
Cutting  Lunt,  the  master,  went  with  another 
boat  and  several  marines  in  chase  of  them, 
and,  pursuing  too  far,  a  fog  came  on  which 
prevented  his  return.  On  the  following  day 
Captain  Landais  came  on  board  the  Commo 
dore's  ship,  and  reproached  him  in  the  most 
insulting  and  disrespectful  manner  for  losing 
his  boats,  telling  him  that  he,  Landais,  was  the 
only  American  in  the  squadron,  that  he  should 
hereafter  follow  his  own  opinion  with  regard 
to  chasing,  notwithstanding  Jones's  orders, 
and,  moreover,  that,  if  Jones  kept  the  squad 
ron  three  days  longer  in  that  situation,  it 
would  inevitably  be  taken.  In  a  regular  ser 
vice,  such  insolence  and  insubordination  would 
be  inconceivable.  The  disaffected  character 
of  Jones's  crew,  and  the  great  proportion  of 
Englishmen  it  contained,  are  also  made  man 
ifest  by  the  desertion  of  the  barge,  which 
usually  contains  the  best  and  most  trusty  men. 
He  reports  to  the  Ambassador,  that,  by  the 
advice  of  Captain  Cottineau,  and  with  the 
free  consent  of  Captain  Varage,  he  had  sent 
the  Cerf  in  to  reconnoitre  the  coast,  and 


JE-r.  32.]  LIFE   OF    PAUL   JONES.  159 

endeavour  to  find  the  boats  and  people,  the 
next  day,  while  the  squadron  stood  off  and  on 
in  the  southwest  quarter,  in  the  best  possible 
situation  to  intercept  the  enemy's  merchant 
ships.  Thus,  before  giving  orders  of  indis 
pensable  necessity,  as  a  superior  officer,  we 
find  him  taking  the  advice  of  one  captain, 
and  obtaining  the  free  consent  and  approba 
tion  of  another.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to 
take  all  these  circumstances  into  consideration, 
in  order  to  estimate  the  difficulties  with  which 
he  was  surrounded,  and  the  glory  which,  in 
defiance  of  them,  he  was  still  able  to  achieve. 
The  Cerfj  on  approaching  the  shore  to  re 
connoitre,  was  seen  by  Mr.  Lunt  in  the  ship's 
boat ;  but,  as  the  Ccrf  was  under  English  col 
ors,  he  mistook  her  character,  and  attempting 
to  escape  towards  the  land,  was  made  prison 
er.  By  this  means,  the  Bon  Homme  Richard 
lost  two  of  her  boats,  her  master,  and  twenty 
of  her  crew.  The  Cerf  was  not  again  seen, 
she  having  returned  to  France,  instead  of  pro 
ceeding  to  the  rendezvous,  which  had  been 
fixed  upon.  The  Grandville,  having  made  a 
prize,  also  lagged  behind  and  parted  company. 
There  remained  of  the  original  squadron  only 


160  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  the  Alliance,  the 
Pallas,  and  the  Vengeance.  As  Jones,  how 
ever,  undoubtedly  gained  strength  as  he  part 
ed  with  his  insubordinate  and  faithless  follow 
ers,  it  was  rather  to  be  regretted  that  the 
defection  had  not  been  greater ;  especially 
would  he  have  gained  by  parting  with  the 
treacherous  Landais. 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  of  August,  it 
came  on  to  blow  heavily  from  the  southwest ; 
and  Jones,  yielding  to  the  insolent  and  insub 
ordinate  objections  of  Landais,  against  remain 
ing  longer  in  that  neighbourhood,  bore  up  and 
ran  to  the  northward  along  the  coast  of  Ire 
land.  Landais  steered  a  course  two  points 
different  from  that  which  Jones  had  ordered 
by  signal,  the  Pallas  carried  away  her  tiller 
in  the  night,  and  Jones  found  himself  the 
next  morning  alone  with  the  Vengeance.  On 
the  31st,  the  Alliance,  being  off  Cape  Wrath, 
joined  company  with  a  valuable  West  India- 
man,  called  the  Betsey,  mounting  twenty-two 
guns,  which  she  had  taken.  As  the  Alliance 
came  up  with  her  prize,  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard  was  in  the  act  of  capturing  a  twenty- 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  161 

two  gun  ship,  called  the  Union,  bound  for 
Canada  with  naval  stores.  Landais  had  the 
insolent  folly  to  send  a  message  to  Jones,  to 
ask  whether  he  should  man  the  ship,  as,  in 
that  case,  he  would  suffer  no  boat  from  the 
Richard  to  board  her.  "  For  the  sake  of 
peace,"  as  he  says,  Jones  yielded  to  these 
terms,  and  the  prize  was  manned  from  the  Al 
liance,  while  the  prisoners  were  received  on 
board  the  Richard.  On  the  same  day,  Jones 
having  made  a  signal  to  Landais  to  chase,  in 
stead  of  obeying,  he  wore  and  laid  his  ship's 
head  the  other  way.  The  next  morning,  a 
signal  was  made  for  him  to  come  within  hail 
of  the  Richard  ;  this  he  did  not  even  answer  ; 
and,  on  September  3d,  he  acted  in  direct  vio 
lation  of  Jones's  orders,  by  sending  the  two 
valuable  prizes,  recently  taken,  to  Bergen  in 
Norway,  where  they  were  subsequently  given 
up  to  the  English,  by  order  of  the  Danish  gov 
ernment.  Their  value  was  estimated  to  ex 
ceed  forty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  On  the 
evening  of  the  4th,  the  Commander  made  sig 
nal  for  all  captains  to  repair  on  board,  which 
Landais  not  only  refused  to  do,  but,  when 

VOL.    I.  11 


162  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779, 

Captain  Cottineau,  who  had  joined  company 
in  the  Pallas  the  day  before,  and  M.  Chamil- 
lard  went  to  persuade  him,  he  used  the  most 
insulting  language  with  regard  to  the  Commo 
dore,  and  said  that  he  would  see  him  on  shore, 
when  one  of  them  must  kill  the  other.  After 
this  amiable  demonstration,  he  again  parted 
company. 

On  the  5th,  it  came  on  to  blow  heavily  and 
continued  boisterous  for  several  days.  In  the 
mean  time  the  squadron  having  doubled  the 
north  of  Scotland,  ran  down  on  the  eastern 
coast,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  13th,  came  in 
sight  of  the  hills  of  Cheviot.  On  the  follow 
ing  day,  being  off  the  Firth  of  Forth,  Jones 
captured  several  vessels  from  Leith,  by  which 
he  learned  that  the  only  vessels  of  war  lying 
in  the  roads  were  a  twenty-gun  ship  and  three 
or  four  cutters.  He  immediately  conceived 
the  daring  and  characteristic  design  of  captur 
ing  this  force,  and  then  landing  his  marines, 
and  laying  the  town  under  contribution,  un 
der  the  penalty  of  being  immediately  burn 
ed.  Though  much  weakened,  and  embarrass 
ed  with  prisoners,  he  was  anxious  to  teach  the 


MT.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  163 

enemy  humanity  by  some  exemplary  stroke 
of  retaliation,  as  well  as  to  make  a  diversion  in 
the  north,  to  favor  a  formidable  descent,  which 
he  expected  would  have  been  made  about  this 
time,  on  the  south  side  of  Great  Britain,  under 
cover  of  the  combined  fleet.  The  wind  was 
favorable  to  run  up  the  Firth ;  but,  the  Pallas 
and  Vengeance  being  at  a  distance  in  the  of 
fing,  he  stood  out  to  meet  them,  in  order  to 
concert  the  attack.  On  communicating  his 
plan  to  his  captains,  they  started  many  diffi 
culties  and  objections.  "  After  spending  the 
whole  night,"  he  says,  "  all  his  arguments  on 
the  side  of  honor  and  humanity  failed.  He 
then  spoke  to  their  ruling  passion,  and  showed 
them  a  large  heap  of  gold  at  the  end  of  the 
prospect.  He  was  now  heard  with  attention." 
"  They  appeared  to  think  better  of  the  de 
sign,"  he  elsewhere  says,  "  after  I  had  assured 
them  that  I  hoped  to  raise  a  contribution  of 
two  hundred  thousand  pounds  on  Leith,  and 
that  there  was  no  battery  of  cannon  there  to 
oppose  our  landing.  So  much  time,  however, 
was  unavoidably  spent  in  pointed  remarks  and 
sage  deliberation  that  night,  that  the  wind  be- 


164  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

came  contrary  in  the  morning."  Nevertheless, 
Jones  did  not  abandon  his  design,  but  con 
tinued  working  to  windward. 

On  the  15th,  they  captured  a  small  collier, 
called  the  Friendship  of  Kirkaldy,  the  master 
of  which,  Andrew  Robertson,  agreed,  on  con 
dition  of  his  vessel  being  restored  to  him,  to 
pilot  the  squadron  into  Leith.  On  the  16th, 
the  ships  being  close  in  with  the  coast  of  Fife, 
under  English  colors,  were  taken  for  King's 
vessels  in  pursuit  of  Paul  Jones,  who  was 
supposed  to  be  on  the  coast ;  for  a  large 
proprietor  of  that  neighbourhood,  who  was  a 
member  of  Parliament,  sent  off  a  boat  to  the 
Richard,  to  ask  for  powder  and  shot,  that  he 
might  have  the  means  of  defending  himself 
from  the  expected  visit  of  the  pirate  Paul 
Jones.  Jones  returned  a  very  polite  message 
and  sent  a  barrel  of  powder,  but  expressed  his 
regret  that  he  had  no  suitable  shot.  In  order 
to  make  the  favor  reciprocal,  and  diminish  the 
weight  of  obligation  he  was  imposing  on  the 
honorable  gentleman,  he  detained  one  of  the 
boatmen  as  a  pilot. 

Meantime,  every  preparation  was  made  for 


^T.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  165 

landing,  and  a  summons  was  prepared  with 
every  prospect  of  its  being  not  only  delivered, 
but  complied  \vith.  It  was  sufficiently  tumid ; 
but  perhaps  not  the  less  suited  to  terrify  the 
worthy  burghers.  A  blank  capitulation  was  at 
the  same  time  drawn  up  in  readiness  to  be 
signed  by  the  magistrates.  The  summons  ran 
as  follows. 

"  The  Honorable  J.  Paul  Jones,  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  American  Squadron, 
now  in  Europe,  to  the  Worshipful  Provost  of 
Leith,  or,  in  his  absence,  to  the  Chief  Magis 
trate,  who  is  now  actually  present,  and  in  au 
thority  there. 

"Sir;  The  British  marine  force,  that  has 
been  stationed  here  for  the  protection  of  your 
city  and  commerce,  being  now  taken  by  the 
American  arms  under  my  command,  I  have 
the  honor  to  send  you  this  summons  by  my 
officer,  Lieutenant  Colonel  de  Chamillard,  who 
commands  the  vanguard  of  my  troops.  I  do 
not  wish  to  distress  the  poor  inhabitants ;  my 
intention  is  only  to  demand  your  contribution 
towards  the  reimbursement  which  Britain  owes 


166  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

to  the  much  injured  citizens  of  the  United 
States  ;  for  savages  would  blush  at  the  unman 
ly  violation  and  rapacity  that  have  marked  the 
tracks  of  British  tyranny  in  America,  from 
which  neither  virgin  innocence  nor  helpless 
age  has  been  a  plea  of  protection  or  pity. 

a  Leith  and  its  port  now  lie  at  our  mercy  ; 
and,  did  not  our  humanity  stay  the  hand  of 
just  retaliation,  I  should,  without  advertise 
ment,  lay  it  in  ashes.  Before  I  proceed  to 
that  stern  duty  as  an  officer,  my  duty  as  a 
man  induces  me  to  propose  to  you,  by  means 
of  a  reasonable  ransom,  to  prevent  such  a 
scene  of  horror  and  distress.  For  this  rea 
son,  I  have  authorized  Lieutenant  Colonel  de 
Chamillard  to  conclude  and  agree  with  you 
on  the  terms  of  ransom,  allowing  you  exactly 
half  an  hour's  reflection  before  you  finally  ac 
cept  or  reject  the  terms  which  he  shall  pro 
pose.  If  you  accept  the  terms  offered  within 
the  time  limited,  you  may  rest  assured  that  no 
further  debarkation  of  troops  will  be  made, 
but  the  reembarkation  of  the  vanguard  will 
immediately  follow,  and  the  property  of  the 
citizens  shall  remain  unmolested." 


^Er.32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  167 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  16th,  the 
squadron  was  distinctly  seen  from  Edinburgh 
Castle,  beating  up  the  Firth.  Its  real  charac 
ter  was  suspected.  The  alarm  spread  far  and 
wide,  and  the  audacity  of  Jones  struck  a  panic 
terror  far  beyond  what  his  force  justified,  and 
which  was  well  suited  to  paralyze  any  effort 
at  resistance ;  arms,  however,  were  distributed 
to  the  trades,  and  efforts  hastily  made  to  erect 
batteries  at  Leith.  On  the  morning  of  the 
17th,  in  one  of  her  tacks  towards  the  north 
ern  shore,  the  Richard  stood  boldly  up  within 
a  mile  of  Kirkaldy,  as  if  about  to  make  a 
descent  on  the  town.  The  simple  inhabitants 
were  in  an  awful  consternation.  It  is  related 
that  the  minister  of  the  place,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Shirra,  who  was  very  eccentric  and  remarka 
ble  for  the  quaint  and  somewhat  unseemly 
hardihood  which  often  characterized  his  pray 
ers,  joined  his  flock  on  the  sandy  beach  which 
skirts  the  town,  and  commenced  supplicating 
earnestly  in  the  following  odd  strain. 

"  Now  deer  Lord,  dinna  ye  think  it  a  shame 
for  ye  to  send  this  vile  piret  to  rob  our  folk 
o'  Kirkaldy  :  for  ye  ken  they  're  puir  enow 


168  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

already,  and  hae  naething  to  spaire.  The  wa 
the  ween  blaws,  he  '11  be  here  in  a  jiffie,  and 
wha  kens  what  he  may  do  ?  He  's  nae  too 
guid  for  ony  thing.  Meickle  's  the  mischief 
he  has  dune  already.  He  '11  burn  thir  nooses, 
tak  their  very  claes  and  tirl  them  to  the  sark  • 
and  wae  's  me  !  wha  kens  but  the  bluidy  vil 
lain  might  take  their  lives  ?  The  puir  weemen 
are  maist  frightened  out  o'  their  wits,  and  the 
bairns  skirling  after  them.  I  canna  thol't  it ! 
I  canna  thol't  it  !  I  hae  been  lang  a  faithfu' 
servant  to  ye,  Laird ;  but  gin  ye  dinna  turn 
the  ween  about,  and  blaw  the  scoundrel  out 
of  our  gate,  I  '11  na  staur  a  fit,  but  will  just 
sit  here  till  the  tide  comes.  Sae  tak  yere 
wull  o't." 

Such  is  said  to  have  been  the  prayer  of  Mr. 
Shirra  on  this  occasion,  the  extravagance  of 
which  may  have  grown  in  the  hands  of  some 
waggish  editor  of  the  day.  Be  it  as  it  may,  a 
violent  gale  just  then  sprung  up,  which  strand 
ed  one  of  the  prizes,  and  compelled  Jones  to 
bear  up  and  run  out  of  the  Firth.  Popular 
belief  among  the  good  people  of  Kirkaldy 
long  continued  to  ascribe  this  gale  to  a  direct 


^Ex.32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  169 

manifestation  of  divine  interposition  in  their 
favor,  brought  on  by  the  energetic  supplica 
tions  of  their  worthy  minister.  Nor  did  he 
altogether  disclaim  the  honor ;  for,  when  long 
after  he  used  to  be  complimented  on  the  sub 
ject,  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  I  prayed  ;  but  the 
Lord  sent  the  wind." 

Jones  tells  us  in  his  official  account,  that  he 
was  nearly  within  gun-shot  of  Leith,  having 
made  every  preparation  to  land,  when  the  gale 
freshened  to  blow  with  great  violence.  He 
made  an  effort  to  withstand  its  force  and  reach 
his  anchorage,  now  quite  near  •  but,  after  an 
ineffectual  struggle,  he  was  obliged  to  bear 
away  and  run  out  of  the  Firth.  The  gale 
abated  in  the  evening  ;  but  he  was  then  far 
from  the  port ;  and,  thinking  that  the  alarm 
had  been  effectually  given  far  and  near,  and 
the  proximity  of  Edinburgh  would  have  ena 
bled  the  authorities  to  make  formidable  prepar 
ations  to  meet  him  at  Leith,  he  was  obliged, 
though  reluctantly  and  with  many  regrets,  to 
abandon  his  enterprise.  Daring  as  it  was,  had 
he  been  so  favored  by  the  wind  as  to  have 
reached  Leith  without  warning,  which  he 


170  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

might  have  done  had  his  coadjutors  lent  him 
hearty  cooperation  from  the  first,  instead  of 
enlightening  him  with  their  "  pointed  remarks 
and  sage  deliberation,"  the  very  suddenness 
of  the  attack  would  have  doubtless  secured  its 
success.  The  exploit  bears  the  same  charac 
ter  of  hardihood  as  the  descent  on  White- 
haven.  Had  circumstances  been  more  propi 
tious,  it  would  doubtless  have  been  successful. 
The  conception,  at  any  rate,  belongs  to  the 
highest  character  of  intrepidity. 

Two  days  after,  Jones  was  already  meditat 
ing  another  attempt  to  destroy  one  of  the  en 
emy's  towns.  It  is  supposed  that  his  attention 
was  now  directed  against  Hull,  or  Newcastle, 
probably  the  latter,  as  it  had  been  a  favorite 
project  of  his  to  cut  off  the  supply  of  coal  for 
London,  which  the  destruction  of  the  shipping 
of  that  place  would  have  temporarily  effected, 
in  addition  to  the  great  loss  of  property.  He 
proposed  this  scheme  to  Captain  Cottineau,  of 
the  Pallas.  This  officer  objected  to  the  pro 
ject,  and  warned  Jones  that  a  delay  of  two 
days  more  on  the  coast  would  inevitably  lead 
to  their  capture.  He  intimated,  moreover,  to 


^Er.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  171 

Colonel  de  Chamillard,  that,  unless  Jones  left 
the  coast  the  next  day,  the  Pallas  and  Ven 
geance  would  abandon  him.  It  was  an  evil, 
that  grew  out  of  the  concordat,  and  the  infe 
rior  commanders  being  made  acquainted  with 
the  orders  under  which  Jones  acted,  that  they 
knew  that  the  period  fixed  for  the  termination 
of  the  cruise  at  the  Texel  had  arrived.  They 
were,  therefore,  anxious  to  leave  a  neighbour 
hood,  which  they  expected  would  soon  be  too 
hot  for  them.  Jones  had  thought  of  attempt 
ing  the  project  alone,  and  protests  that  he 
would  have  done  so,  with  every  confidence  of 
success,  but  for  the  reproach  that  would  have 
been  cast  upon  his  character  as  a  man  of 
prudence,  had  the  enterprise  miscarried.  It 
would  have  been  said,  "Was  he  not  forewarn 
ed  by  Captain  Cottineau  and  others?  " 

Jones  was  the  last  man  to  have  others  asso 
ciated  with  him,  with  the  right  to  claim  an 
explanation  of  his  views  and  to  pass  judg 
ment  upon  them,  as,  owing  to  the  nature  of 
the  agreement  entered  into  by  the  various 
commanders,  the  distrust  of  the  chief,  and  the 
indiscreet  confidence  reposed  in  the  subordi- 


172  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

nates,  was  the  case  on  this  ill-arranged  expedi 
tion.  The  accuracy  of  the  local  knowledge 
of  this  coast  which  he  obtained  from  his  pris 
oners,  and  his  ingenuity  in  combining  it,  above 
all,  the  freedom  from  vague  apprehension  of 
unseen  dangers  which  left  his  judgment  un 
disturbed  to  study  and  appreciate  the  real  dif 
ficulties  of  any  undertaking,  enabled  him  to 
estimate  the  chances  of  success  with  an  accu 
racy  convincing  to  himself,  though  not  obvi 
ous  to  others,  less  ingenious,  and  less  free  from 
disturbance  by  the  prospect  of  danger.  Oth 
ers  could  not  see  with  his  eyes.  It  was  an 
inherent  vice  in  this  armament,  that  its  ill- 
assorted  composition,  and  the  principle  upon 
which  it  was  sent  out,  rendered  it  necessary 
they  should  do  so.  Jones  was  a  man  to  be 
obeyed.  Had  he  been  at  the  head  of  a  reg 
ular  force  of  American  ships,  fitted  out  at 
home,  imperfectly  organized  as  our  navy  then 
was,  there  is  scarcely  a  limit  to  the  services 
that  he  might  have  effected.  There  was  one 
service,  however,  that  he  did  effect  in  defiance 
of  all  obstacles  which  surrounded  him.  In 
the  decayed  and  ill-contrived  old  ship  in  which 


^Er.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JOJXES.  173 

he  found  himself  cast  forth  upon  the  ocean,  in 
a  scarcely  seaworthy  condition  from  the  first, 
and  having  under  his  orders  a  motley  collec 
tion  of  officers  and  seamen  of  almost  every 
country,  he  fought  a  battle,  which,  for  stubborn 
and  resolute  courage,  and  triumphant  success, 
is  unsurpassed  by  any  sea-fight  of  ancient  or 
modern  times.  This  is  a  service,  the  value 
of  which  will  be  felt  in  its  animating  and  en 
couraging  example,  so  long  as  we  continue  to 
have  a  name  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


174  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Squadron  off  Flamborough  Head.  —  Discovers  the  Baltic 
Fleet.  —  Gives  Chase.  — The  opposing  Ships  approach.  —  State 
of  the  Weather.  —  Spectators  on  Shore.  —  Eccentric  Move 
ments  of  the  Alliance.  — The  Action  begins  between  the  Rich 
ard  and  the  Serapis.  —  Two  Guns  of  the  Richard  burst.  —  The 
Serapis  passes  round  the  Richard.  —  Attempts  to  cross  her  Bow. 

—  The   two  Ships  get  foul. — Jones  attempts  to  board.  —  Is  re 
pulsed. —  The  Ships  separate.  —  The  Richard  lays  the  Serapis 
athwart  Hawse.  — The  Ships  swing  Broadside  and  Broadside.  — 
The  Serapis  anchors.  —  Terrible  Cannonade  from  the  Serapis. 

—  The    Alliance  rakes  the  Richard.  —  Jones  superintends  the 
Quarter-deck    Battery.  —  Effective    Fire    from    the    Richard's 
Tops.  —  Combustibles  thrown  on  board  the  Serapis.  —  Explo 
sion  on  her  Main  Deck.  —  Alarm  lest  the  Richard  should  sink. 

—  Gunner  cries  for  Quarter.  —  Prisoners  released. —  Desperate 
Situation    of   Jones.  —  He   does    not    despair.  —  The    Serapis 
strikes.  —  Her  Captain  delivers  up  his  Sword.  — Mangled  Con 
dition  of  the  Richard.  —  Both  Ships  on  Fire.  —  Removal  of  the 
Wounded.  —  The    Richard   sinks.  —  Comparative  Force   of  the 
Ships.  —  Victory  due  personally  to  Jones.  —  Conduct  of  Lan- 
dais.  —  Jones's  Heroism. 

THE  battle  between  the  Bon  How  me  Rich 
ard  and  the  Serapis  is  invested  with  an  heroic 
interest  of  the  highest  stamp.  Prom  the  day 
of  his  unsuccessful  effort  to  attack  Leith,  Jones 
had  been  cruising  off  the  mouth  of  the  Hum- 
ber,  and  along  the  Yorkshire  coast,  intercept 
ing  the  colliers  bound  to  London,  many  of 
which  he  destroyed.  On  the  morning  of  the 


JEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  175 

23d  of  September,  he  fell  in  with  the  Alliance. 
This  rencontre  was  a  real  misfortune  ;  as,  in 
the  battle  which  ensued,  the  disobedience  and 
mad  vagaries  of  Landais  were  about  to  be 
converted  into  absolute  treason.  The  squad 
ron  now  consisted  of  the  Richard,  the  Alli 
ance,  the  Pallas,  and  the  Vengeance, 

About  noon,  Jones  despatched  his  second 
lieutenant,  Henry  Lunt,  with  fifteen  of  his 
best  men,  to  take  possession  of  a  brigantine, 
which  he  had  chased  ashore.  Soon  after,  as 
the  squadron  was  standing  to  the  northward  to 
wards  Flamborough  Head,  with  a  light  breeze 
from  south-southwest,  chasing  a  ship,  which 
was  seen  doubling  the  cape,  in  opening  the 
view  beyond,  they  gradually  came  in  sight  of 
a  fleet  of  forty-one  sail  running  down  the  coast 
from  the  northward,  very  close  in  with  the 
land.  On  questioning  the  pilot,  the  Commo 
dore  discovered  that  this  was  the  Baltic  fleet, 
with  which  "he  had  been  so  anxious  to  fall 
in,  and  that  it  was  under  convoy  of  the  Sera- 
pis,  a  new  ship,  of  an  improved  construction, 
mounting  forty-four  guns,  and  the  Countess 
of  Scarborough,  of  twenty  guns. 


176  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Signal  was  immediately  made  to  form  the 
line  of  battle,  which  the  Alliance,  as  usual, 
disregarded.  The  Richard  crossed  her  royal 
yards,  and  immediately  gave  chase  to  the 
northward,  under  all  sail,  to  get  between  the 
enemy  and  the  land.  At  the  same  time  sig 
nal  of  recall  was  made  to  the  pilot  boat ;  but 
she  did  not  return  until  after  the  action.  On 
discovering  the  American  squadron,  the  head 
most  ships  of  the  convoy  were  seen  to  haul 
their  wind  suddenly,  and  go  about  so  as  to 
stretch  back  under  the  land,  towards  Scarbo 
rough,  and  place  themselves  under  cover  of 
the  cruisers ;  at  the  same  time,  they  fired 
signal  guns,  let  fly  their  top-gallant  sheets, 
and  showed  every  symptom  of  confusion  and 
alarm.  Soon  afterward,  the  Serapis  was  seen 
stretching  to  windward,  to  get  between  the 
convoy  and  the  American  ships,  which  she 
soon  effected.  At  four  o'clock,  the  English 
cruisers  were  in  sight  from  deck.  The  Count 
ess  of  Scarborough  was  standing  out  to  join 
the  Serapis,  which  was  lying  to  for  her, 
whilst  the  convoy  continued  to  run  for  the 
fort,  in  obedience  to  the  signals  displayed 


jET.  32.]  LIFE   OF  PAUL  JONES.  177 

from  the  Serapis,  which  was  also  seen  to  fire 
guns.  At  half  past  five,  the  two  ships  had 
joined  company,  when  the  Scrapis  made  sail 
by  the  wind ;  at  six,  both  vessels  tacked, 
heading  up  to  the  westward,  across  the  bows 
of  the  Richard,  so  as  to  keep  their  position 
between  her  and  the  convoy. 

The  opposing  ships  thus  continued  to  ap 
proach  each  other  slowly,  under  the  light 
southwesterly  air.  The  weather  was  beauti 
fully  serene,  and  the  breeze  being  off  the  land, 
which  was  now  close  on  board,  produced  no 
ripple  on  the  water,  which  lay  still  and  peace 
ful,  offering  a  fair  field  to  the  combatants 
about  to  grapple  in  such  deadly  strife.  The 
decks  of  the  opposing  vessels  were  long  since 
cleared  for  action,  and  ample  leisure  remained 
for  reflection,  as  the  ships  glided  towards  each 
other  at  a  rate  but  little  in  accordance  with 
the  impatience  of  the  opponents.  From  the 
projecting  promontory  of  Flamborough  Head, 
which  was  less  than  a  league  distant,  thou 
sands  of  the  inhabitants,  whom  the  recent  at 
tempt  upon  Leith  had  made  aware  of  the 
character  of  the  American  ships,  and  the  reck- 

VOL.    I.  12 


178  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

less  daring  of  their  leader,  looked  down  upon 
the  scene,  awaiting  the  result  with  intense 
anxiety.  The  ships  also  were  in  sight  from 
Scarborough,  the  inhabitants  of  which  throng 
ed  the  piers.  The  sun  had  already  sunk  be 
hind  the  land,  before  the  ships  were  Avithin 
gun-shot  of  each  other ;  but  a  full  harvest- 
moon  rising  above  the  opposite  horizon,  light 
ed  the  combatants  in  their  search  for  each 
other,  and  served  to  reveal  the  approaching 
scene  to  the  spectators  on  the  land  with  a 
vague  indistinctness  which  rendered  it  only 
the  more  terrible. 

We  have  seen,  that  the  Alliance  had  utterly 
disregarded  the  signal  to  form  the  line  of  bat 
tle,  when  the  Baltic  fleet  was  first  discover 
ed  and  our  squadron  bore  down  upon  them. 
She  stood  for  the  enemy  without  reference  to 
her  station,  and,  greatly  outsailing  the  other 
vessels,  was  much  sooner  in  a  condition  to  en 
gage.  Captain  Landais  seemed,  for  once,  to 
be  actuated  by  a  chivalrous  motive,  and  likely 
to  do  something  to  redeem  the  guilt  of  his  dis 
obedience.  The  officers  of  the  Richard  were 
watching  this  new  instance  of  eccentricity, 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  179 

for  which  Landais's  past  conduct  had  not 
prepared  them,  with  no  little  surprise  ;  when, 
after  getting  near  to  where  the  Serapis  lay, 
with  her  courses  hauled  up  and  St.  George's 
ensign,  the  white  cross  of  England,  proudly 
displayed,  he  suddenly  hauled  his  wind,  leav 
ing  the  path  of  honor  open  to  his  commander. 
While  the  Pallas  stood  for  the  Countess  of 
Scarborough,  the  Alliance  sought  a  position 
in  which  she  could  contemplate  the  double 
engagement  without  risk,  as  though  her  com 
mander  had  been  chosen  umpire,  instead  of 
being  a  party  interested  in  the  approaching 
battle.  Soon  afterward,  the  Serapis  was  seen 
to  hoist  the  red  ensign  instead  of  St.  George's, 
and  it  was  subsequently  known  that  her  cap 
tain  had  nailed  it  to  the  flag-staff  with  his 
own  hand. 

About  half  past  seven,  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard  hauled  up  her  courses  and  rounded 
to  on  the  weather  or  larboard  quarter  of  the 
Serapis,  within  pistol-shot,  and  steered  a  near 
ly  parallel  course,  though  gradually  edging 
down  upon  her.  The  Serapis  now  triced  up 


180  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

her  lower  deck  ports,  showing  two  complete 
batteries,  besides  her  spar-deck,  lighted  up  for 
action,  and  making  a  most  formidable  appear 
ance.  At  this  moment,  Captain  Pearson,  her 
commander,  hailed  the  Bon  Homme  Richard, 
and  demanded,  "  What  ship  is  that  ?  "  An 
swer  was  made,  "  I  can't  hear  what  you  say." 
The  hail  was  repeated  ;  "  What  ship  is  that  ? 
answer  immediately,  or  I  shall  be  under  the 
necessity  of  firing  into  you!"  A  shot  was 
fired  in  reply  by  the  Bon  Homme  Richard, 
which  was  instantly  followed  by  a  broadside 
from  each  vessel.  Two  of  the  three  old 
eighteen-pounders  in  the  Richard's  gun-room 
burst  at  the  first  fire,  spreading  around  an  aw 
ful  scene  of  carnage.  Jones  immediately  gave 
orders  to  close  the  lower  deck  ports,  and  aban 
don  that  battery  during  the  rest  of  the  action. 
The  Richard,  having  kept  her  head-way, 
and  becalmed  the  sails  of  the  Serapis,  passed 
across  her  forefoot,  when  the  Serapis,  luffing 
across  the  stern  of  the  Richard,  came  up  in 
turn  on  the  weather  or  larboard  quarter  ;  and, 
after  an  exchange  of  several  broadsides  from 


jET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  181 

the  fresh  batteries,  which  did  great  damage  to 
the  rotten  sides  of  the  Richard,  and  caused 
her  to  leak  badly,  the  Serapis  likewise  be 
calmed  the  sails  of  the  Richard,  passed  ahead, 
and  soon  after  bore  up  and  attempted  to  cross 
her  forefoot,  so  as  to  rake  her  from  stem  to 
stern.  Finding,  however,  that  he  had  not 
room  for  the  evolution,  and  that  the  Richard 
would  be  on  board  of  him,  Captain  Pearson 
put  his  helm  a-lee  which  brought  the  two 
ships  in  a  line  ahead,  and,  the  Serapis  having 
lost  her  head-way  by  the  attempted  evolution, 
the  Richard  ran  into  her  weather  or  larboard 
quarter.  While  in  this  position,  neither  ship 
being  able  to  use  her  great  guns,  Jones  at 
tempted  to  board  the  Scrapis,  but  was  re 
pulsed,  when  Captain  Pearson  hailed  him,  and 
asked,  "  Has  your  ship  struck  ?  "  To  which 
he  at  once  returned  the  discouraging  answer, 
11 1  have  not  yet  begun  to  fight !  " 

Jones  now  backed  his  topsails,  and  the  sails 
of  the  Serapis  remaining  full,  the  two  ships 
separated.  Immediately  after,  Pearson  also 
laid  his  topsails  aback,  as  he  says  in  his  offi- 


182  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

cial  report,  to  get  square  with  the  Richard 
again  ;  Jones,  at  the  same  instant,  filled  away, 
which  brought  the  two  ships  once  more  broad 
side  and  broadside.  As  he  had  already  suffer 
ed  greatly  from  the  superior  force  of  the  Se- 
rapis,  and  from  her  being  more  manageable 
and  a  faster  sailer  than  the  Richard,  which 
had  several  times  given  her  the  advantage  in 
position,  Jones  now  determined  to  lay  his  ship 
athwart  the  enemy's  hawse ;  he  accordingly 
put  his  helm  up,  but  some  of  his  braces  being 
shot  away,  his  sails  had  not  their  full  power, 
and,  the  Serapis  having  stern-way,  the  Rich 
ard  fell  on  board  of  her  farther  aft  than  Jones 
had  intended.  The  Serapis^s  jib-boom  hung 
her  for  a  few  minutes,  when,  carrying  away, 
the  two  ships  swung  broadside  and  broadside, 
the  muzzles  of  the  guns  touching  each  other. 
Jones  sent  Mr.  Stacy,  the  acting  master,  to 
pass  up  the  end  of  a  hawser  to  lash  the  two 
ships  together  ;  and,  while  he  was  gone  on  this 
service,  assisted  with  his  own  hand  in  making 
fast  the  jib-stay  of  the  Serapis  to  the  Rich 
ard's  mizzen-mast.  Accident,  however,  un- 


LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  183 

known  for  the  moment  to  either  party,  more 
effectually  secured  the  two  vessels  together  ; 
for.  the  anchor  of  the  Scrapis  having  hooked 
the  quarter  of  the  Richard,  the  two  ships  lay 
closely  grappled.  In  order  to  escape  from  this 
close  embrace,  and  recover  the  advantage  of 
his  superior  sailing  and  force,  Captain  Pearson 
now  let  go  an  anchor,  when  the  two  ships 
tended  round  to  the  tide,  which  was  setting 
towards  Scarborough.  The  Richard  being 
held  by  the  anchor  of  the  Serapis,  and  the 
yards  being  entangled  fore  and  aft,  they  re 
mained  firmly  grappled.  This  happened  about 
half  past  eight,  the  engagement  having  already 
continued  an  hour.* 


*  As  considerable  difference  will  be  observable  be 
tween  the  account  of  this  battle,  given  in  Mr.  Cooper's 
''Naval  History"  and  the  above,  it  is  proper  to  state, 
that  Mr.  Cooper  has  followed  Mr.  Dale's  description  of 
the  manoeuvres  antecedent  to  the  ships'  being  grappled ; 
whilst,  in  the  present  account,  more  reliance  has  been 
placed  on  those  of  the  two  commanders,  who  directed 
the  evolutions.  Mr.  Dale  was  stationed  on  the  Richard's 
main  deck,  in  a  comparatively  unfavorable  position  for 
observing  the  manoeuvres.  The  evolution  of  boxhauling 
his  ship,  ascribed  by  Mr.  Cooper  to  Captain  Pearson, 
would,  under  the  circumstances,  have  been  highly  un- 
seamanlike. 


184 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES. 


[1779. 


8th  Position.  The  two  ships  foul 
fore  and  aft ;  the  Serapis's  lar 
board  anchor  on  the  bottom, 
her  starboard  caught  in  the 
Richard's  starboard  quarter- 
port.  So  both  ships  remained 
until  the  close  of  the  action. 

7th  Position.  The  Richard  runs 
athwart  hawse  of  the  Serapis. 

5th  Position.  The  Richard  fills 
her  topsails,  and  the  Serapis 
backs  hers,  which  brings  the 
two  ships  broadside  and  broad- 


5th  Position.    The  Richard  backs 
clear  of  the  Serapis. 


4th  Position.  The  Serapis,  not 
having  room  to  cross  the  Rich 
ard's  bow,  luffs  up,  and  the 
Richard  runs  into  her  quarter. 

3d  Position.  The  Serapis  rakes 
the  Richard  and  attempts  to 
cross  her  bow. 


2d  Position.     The  Serapis  passes 
to  windward  of  the  Richard. 


1  st  Position.    Battle  begins  at  7.30 
P.M. 


iEx.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  185 

Meantime  the  firing  had  recommenced  with 
fresh  fury  from  the  starboard  sides  of  both 
vessels.  The  guns  of  either  ship  actually 
touched  the  sides  of  the  other,  and  some  of 
them  being  opposite  the  ports,  the  rammers 
entered  those  of  the  opposite  ship  when  in  the 
act  of  loading,  and  the  guns  were  discharged 
into  the  side  or  into  the  open  decks.  The 
effect  of  this  cannonade  was  terrible  to  both 
ships,  and  wherever  it  could  be  kept  up  in 
one  ship,  it  was  silenced  in  the  other.  Occa 
sional  skirmishing  with  pikes  and  pistols  took 
place  through  the  ports,  but  there  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  any  concerted  effort  to 
board  from  the  lower  decks  of  the  Serapis, 
which  had  the  advantage  below. 

The  Richard  had  already  received  several 
eighteen-pound  shot  between  wind  and  water, 
causing  her  to  leak  badly  ;  the  main  battery 
of  twelve-pounders  was  silenced  ;  as  for  the 
gun-room  battery  of  six  eighteen-pounders,  we 
have  seen,  that  two  out  of  the  three  star 
board  ones  burst  at  the  first  fire,  killing  most 
of  their  crews.  During  the  whole  action  but 
eight  shots  were  fired  from  this  heavy  battery. 


186  LIFE  OF  PAUL   JONES.  [1779. 

the  use  of  which  was  so  much  favored  by  the 
smoothness  of  the  water.  The  bursting  of 
these  guns,  and  the  destruction  of  the  crew, 
with  the  partial  blowing  up  of  the  deck  above, 
so  early  in  the  action,  were  discouraging  cir 
cumstances,  which,  with  a  less  resolutely  de 
termined  commander,  might  well  have  been 
decisive  of  the  fate  of  the  battle. 

Colonel  Chamillard,  who  was  stationed  on 
the  poop,  with  a  party  of  twenty  marines,  had 
already  been  driven  from  his  post,  with  the 
loss  of  a  number  of  his  men,  probably  by  the 
raking  fire  of  the  Alliance.  This  ship  kept 
studiously  aloof,  and  hovering  about  the  Pal 
las  and  Countess  of  Scarborough,  until  the 
latter  struck,  after  half  an  hour's  action,  when 
Landais  endeavoured  to  get  information  as  to 
the  force  of  the  Serapis.  He  now  ran  down, 
under  easy  sail,  to  where  the  Richard  and 
Serapis  lay  grappled.  At  about  half  past 
nine,  he  ranged  up  on  the  larboard  quarter  of 
the  Richard,  of  course  having  the  Richard 
between  him  and  the  Scrapis]  though  the 
brightness  of  the  moonlight,  the  greater  height 
of  the  Richard,  especially  about  the  poop,  and 


JE.T.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  187 

the  fact  of  her  being  painted  entirely  black, 
whilst  the  Serapis  had  a  yellow  streak,  could 
have  left  no  doubt  as  to  her  identity  ;  more 
over,  the  Richard  displayed  three  lights,  at 
the  larboard  bow,  gangway,  and  stem,  which 
was  an  appointed  signal  of  recognition. 

Landais  now  deliberately  fired  into  the 
Richard's  quarter,  killing  many  of  her  men. 
Standing  on,  he  ranged  past  her  larboard  bow, 
where  he  renewed  his  raking  fire,  with  like 
fatal  effect.  To  remove  the  chance  of  mis 
conception,  many  voices  cried  out,  that  the 
Alliance  was  firing  into  the  wrong  ship  ;  still 
the  raking  fire  continued  from  her.  Captain 
Pearson  also  suffered  from  this  fire,  as  he 
states  in  his  report  to  the  Admiralty,  but 
necessarily  in  a  much  less  degree  than  the 
Richard  j  which  lay  between  them.  There  is 
ample  evidence  of  Landais  having  returned 
there  several  times  to  fire  on  the  Richard, 
and  always  on  the  larboard  side,  or  the  op 
posite  one  to  that  on  which  the  Richard  was 
grappled  with  the  Serapis. 

While  the  fire  of  the  Serapis  was  continued 
without  intermission  from  the  whole  of  her 


188  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

lower-deck  battery,  the  only  guns  that  were 
still  fired  from  the  Richard  were  two  nine- 
poimders  on  the  quarter-deck,  commanded  by 
Mr.  Mease,  the  purser.  This  officer  having 
received  a  dangerous  wound  in  the  head,  Jones 
took  his  place,  and,  having  collected  a  few 
men,  succeeded  in  shifting  over  one  of  the 
larboard  guns  ;  so  that  three  guns  were  now 
kept  playing  on  the  enemy,  and  these  were  all 
that  were  fired  from  the  Richard  during  the 
remainder  of  the  action.  One  of  these  guns 
was  served  with  double-headed  shot  and  di 
rected  at  the  main  mast,  by  Jones's  command, 
whilst  the  other  two  were  loaded  with  grape 
and  canister,  to  clear  the  enemy's  deck.  In 
this  service,  great  aid  was  rendered  by  the  men 
stationed  in  the  tops  of  the  Richard,  who, 
having  cleared  the  tops  of  the  Serapis,  com 
mitted  great  havoc  among  the  officers  and 
crew  upon  her  upper  deck.  Thus,  while  the 
action  was  carried  on  with  decided  advantage 
to  the  enemy  on  the  lower  decks,  from  which 
they  might  have  boarded  with  a  good  prospect 
of  success,  as  nearly  the  whole  crew  of  the 
Richard  had  been  driven  from  below  by  the 


JET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  189 

fire  of  the  Serapis,  and  had  collected  on  the 
upper  deck,  —  above,  it  was  equally  in  our 
favor.  In  addition  to  the  destructive  fire  from 
the  tops  of  the  Richard,  great  damage  was 
done  by  the  hand-grenades  thrown  from  her 
tops  and  yard-arms.  The  Serapis  was  set  on 
fire  as  often  as  ten  or  twelve  times  in  vari 
ous  parts,  and  the  conflagration  was  only  with 
the  greatest  exertions  kept  from  becoming 
general. 

About  a  quarter  before  ten,  a  hand-grenade, 
thrown  by  one  of  the  Richard's  men  from  the 
main-top  of  the  Serapis,  struck  the  combing  of 
the  main  hatch,  and,  glancing  inward  upon  the 
main  deck,  set  fire  to  a  cartridge  of  powder. 
Owing  to  mismanagement  and  defective  train 
ing,  the  powder  boys  on  this  deck  had  brought 
up  the  cartridges  from  the  magazine  faster 
than  they  were  used,  and,  instead  of  waiting 
for  the  loaders  to  receive  and  charge  them, 
had  laid  them  on  the  deck,  where  some  of 
them  were  broken.  The  cartridge  fired  by 
the  grenade  now  communicated  to  these,  and 
the  explosion  spread  from  the  main-mast  aft 
on  the  starboard  side,  killing  twenty  men  and 


190  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

disabling  every  man  there  stationed  at  the 
guns,  those  who  were  not  killed  outright  be 
ing  left  stripped  of  their  clothes  and  scorched 
frightfully. 

At  this  conjuncture,  being  about  ten  o'clock, 
the  gunner  and  the  carpenter  of  the  Rich 
ard,  who  had  been  slightly  wounded,  became 
alarmed  at  the  quantity  of  water  which  entered 
the  ship  through  the  shot-holes,  which  she  had 
received  between  wind  and  water,  and  which, 
by  her  settling,  had  got  below  the  surface. 
The  carpenter  expressed  an  apprehension  that 
she  would  speedily  sink,  which  the  gunner 
mistaking  for  an  assertion  that  she  was  actual 
ly  sinking,  ran  aft  on  the  poop  to  haul  down 
the  colors.  Finding  that  the  ensign  was  al 
ready  down,  in  consequence  of  the  staff  hav 
ing  been  shot  away,  the  gunner  set  up  the  cry, 
"  Quarter  !  for  God's  sake,  quarter  !  Oar  ship 
is  sinking  !  "  which  he  continued  until  si 
lenced  by  Jones,  who  threw  at  the  recreant 
a  pistol  he  had  just  discharged  at  the  enemy, 
which  fractured  his  skull,  and  sent  him  head 
long  down  the  hatchway.  Captain  Pearson, 
hearing  the  gunner's  cry,  asked  Jones  if  he 


^ET.32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  191 

called  for  quarter,  to  which,  according  to  his 
own  words,  he  replied  "  in  the  most  deter 
mined  negative."  Captain  Pearson  now  called 
away  his  boarders  and  sent  them  on  board 
the  Richard,  but,  when  they  reached  her  rail, 
they  were  met  by  Jones  himself,  at  the  head 
of  a  party  of  pikemen,  and  driven  back.  They 
immediately  returned  to  their  ship,  followed 
by  some  of  the  Richard's  men,  all  of  whom 
were  cut  off. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  gunner  set  up 
his  cry  for  quarter,  the  master-at-arms,  who 
had  been  in  consultation  with  the  gunner  and 
the  carpenter,  in  regard  to  the  sinking  con 
dition  of  the  ship,  hearing  the  cry  for  quar 
ter,  proceeded,  without  orders  from  Jones,  and 
either  from  treachery  or  the  prompting  of  hu 
mane  feelings,  to  release  all  the  prisoners, 
amounting  to  more  than  a  hundred.  One  of 
these,  being  the  commander  of  the  letter-of- 
marque  Union,  taken  on  the  31st  of  August, 
passed,  with  generous  self-devotion,  through 
the  lower  ports  of  the  Richard  and  the  Se- 
rapis,  and,  having  reached  the  quarter-deck 
of  the  latter,  informed  Captain  Pearson,  that, 


192  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

if  he  would  hold  out  a  little  longer,  the  Rich 
ard  must  either  strike  or  sink.  He,  moreover, 
informed  him  of  the  large  number  of  prison 
ers  who  had  been  released  with  himself,  in 
order  to  save  their  lives.  Thus  encouraged, 
the  battle  was  renewed  from  the  Scrapis  with 
fresh  ardor. 

The  situation  of  Jones,  at  this  moment,  was 
indeed  hopeless,  beyond  any  thing  that  is  re 
corded  in  the  annals  of  naval  warfare.  In  a 
sinking  ship,  with  a  battery  silenced  every 
where,  except  where  he  himself  fought,  more 
than  a  hundred  prisoners  at  large  in  his  ship, 
his  consort,  the  Alliance,  sailing  round  and 
raking  him  deliberately,  his  superior  officers 
counselling  surrender,  whilst  the  inferior  ones 
were  setting  up  disheartening  cries  of  fire  and 
sinking,  and  calling  loudly  for  quarter  ;  the 
chieftain  still  stood  undismayed.  He  imme 
diately  ordered  the  prisoners  to  the  pumps, 
and  took  advantage  of  the  panic  they  were  in, 
with  regard  to  the  reported  sinking  of  the 
ship,  to  keep  them  from  conspiring  to  over 
come  the  few  efficient  hands  that  remained  of 
his  crew.  Meanwhile,  the  action  was  contin- 


^ET.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  193 

ued  with  the  three  light  quarter-deck  guns, 
under  Jones's  immediate  inspection.  In  the 
moonlight,  blended  with  the  flames  that  as 
cended  the  rigging  of  the  Serapis,  the  yellow 
main-mast  presented  a  palpable  mark,  against 
which  the  guns  were  directed  with  double- 
headed  shot.  Soon  after  ten  o'clock,  the  fire 
of  the  Scrapis  began  to  slacken,  arid  at  half 
past  ten  she  struck. 

Mr.  Dale,  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Richard, 
was  now  ordered  on  board  the  Serapis,  to 
take  charge  of  her.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Midshipman  Mayrant  and  a  party  of  boarders. 
Mr.  Mayrant  was  run  through  the  thigh  with 
a  wounding-pike,  as  he  touched  the  deck  of 
the  Serapis,  and  three  of  the  Richard's  crew 
were  killed  after  the  Serapis  had  struck,  by 
some  of  the  crew  of  the  latter  who  were  igno 
rant  of  the  surrender  of  their  ship.  Lieutenant 
Dale  found  Captain  Pearson  on  the  quarter 
deck,  and  told  him  he  was  ordered  to  send 
him  on  board  the  Richard.  It  is  a  remarka 
ble  evidence  of  the  strange  character  of  this 
engagement,  and  the  doubt  which  attended 
its  result,  that  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Se- 

VOL.  i.  13 


194  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JUNES.  [1779. 

rapis,  who  came  upon  deck  at  this  moment, 
should  have  asked  his  commander,  whether 
the  ship  alongside  had  struck.  Lieutenant 
Dale  immediately  answered,  "  No,  Sir  !  on  the 
contrary,  he  has  struck  to  us."  The  Brit 
ish  lieutenant,  like  a  true  officer,  repeated 
the  question  to  his  commander,  "  Have  you 
struck,  Sir?"  Captain  Pearson  replied,  "Yes, 
I  have."  The  lieutenant  replied,  "I  have 
nothing  more  to  say,"  and  was  about  to  re 
turn  below,  when  Mr.  Dale  informed  him, 
that  he  must  accompany  Captain  Pearson  on 
board  the  Richard.  The  lieutenant  rejoined, 
"  If  you  will  permit  me  to  go  below,  I  will 
silence  the  firing  of  the  lower  deck  guns." 
This  offer  Mr.  Dale  very  properly  declined, 
and  the  two  officers  went  on  board  the  Rich 
ard,  and  surrendered  themselves  to  Jones. 

Pearson,  who  had  risen,  like  Jones,  from  an 
humble  station  by  his  own  bravery,  but  who 
was  as  inferior  to  Jones  in  courtesy,  as  he 
had  proved  himself  in  obstinacy  of  resistance, 
evinced  from  the  first  a  characteristic  surliness, 
which  he  maintained  throughout  the  whole  of 
his  intercourse  with  his  victor.  In  surrender- 


JET.  32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONKS.  195 

ing  he  said,  that  it  was  painful  for  him  to  de 
liver  up  his  sword  to  a  man,  who  had  fought 
with  a  halter  round  his  neck.  Jones  did  not 
forget  himself,  but  replied,  with  a  compliment, 
which,  though  addressed  to  Pearson,  neces 
sarily  reverted  to  himself,  "  Sir  !  you  have 
fought  like  a  hero,  and  I  make  no  doubt  but 
your  sovereign  will  reward  you  in  a  most 
ample  manner." 

As  another  evidence  of  the  strange  melee 
which  attended  this  engagement,  and  of  the 
discouraging  circumstances  under  which  the 
Richard  fought,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that 
eight  or  ten  of  her  crew,  who  were  of  course 
Englishmen,  got  into  a  boat,  which  was  tow 
ing  astern  of  the  Sc?*apis,  and  escaped  to  Scar 
borough  during  the  height  of  the  engagement. 
This  defection,  together  with  the  absence  of 
the  second  lieutenant  with  fifteen  of  the  best 
men,  the  loss  of  twenty-four  men  on  the  coast 
of  Ireland,  added  to  the  number  who  had  been 
sent  away  in  prizes,  reduced  Jones's  crew  to 
a  very  small  number,  and  greatly  diminished 
his*  chance  of  success,  which  was  due  at  length 
solely  to  his  own  indomitable  courage. 


196  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Meantime,  the  fire,  which  was  still  kept  up 
from  the  lower-deck  guns  of  the  Serapis, 
where  the  seamen  were  ignorant  of  the  scene 
of  surrender  which  had  taken  place  above, 
was  arrested  by  an  order  from  Lieutenant 
Dale.  The  action  had  continued  without 
cessation  for  three  hours  and  a  half.  When  it 
at  length  ceased,  Jones  got  his  ship  clear  of 
the  Serapis,  and  made  sail.  As  the  two  sep 
arated,  after  being  so  long  locked  in  deadly 
struggle,  the  main-mast  of  the  Serapis,  which 
had  been  for  some  time  tottering,  and  which 
had  only  been  sustained  by  the  interlocking 
of  her  yards  with  those  of  the  Richard,  went 
over  the  side  with  a  tremendous  crash,  carry 
ing  the  mizzen-topmast  with  it.  Soon  after, 
the  Serapis  cut  her  cable  and  followed  the 
Richard. 

The  exertions  of  captors  and  captives  were 
now  necessary  to  extinguish  the  flames,  which 
were  raging  furiously  in  both  vessels.  Its 
violence  was  greatest  in  the  Richard,  where 
it  had  been  communicated  below  from  the 
lower-deck  guns  of  the  Serapis.  Every  ef 
fort  to  subdue  the  flames  seemed  for  a  time 


JET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  197 

to  be  unavailing.  In  one  place  they  were 
raging  very  near  the  magazine,  and  Jones,  at 
length,  had  all  the  powder  taken  out  and 
brought  on  deck,  in  readiness  to  be  thrown 
overboard.  In  this  work  the  officers  of  the 
Scrap  is  voluntarily  assisted. 

While  the  fire  was  raging  in  so  terrifying 
a  manner,  the  water  was  entering  the  ship  in 
many  places.  The  rudder  had  been  cut  en 
tirely  through,  the  transoms  were  driven  in, 
and  the  rotten  timbers  of  the  old  ship,  from 
the  main-mast  aft,  were  shattered  and  almost 
entirely  separated,  as  if  the  ship  had  been 
sawn  through  by  ice  ;  so  much  so,  that  Jones 
says,  that,  towards  the  close  of  the  action,  the 
shot  of  the  Scrapis  passed  completely  through 
the  Richard;  and  the  stern-post  and  a  few 
timbers  alone  prevented  the  stern  from  falling 
down  on  the  gun-room  deck.  The  water 
rushed  in  through  all  these  apertures,  so  that, 
at  the  close  of  the  action,  there  were  already 
five  feet  of  water  in  the  hold.  The  spectacle, 
which  the  old  ship  presented  the  following 
morning,  was  dreadful  beyond  description. 
Junes  says,  in  his  official  report,  that  "  a  per- 


198  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

son  must  have  been  an  eyewitness  to  form 
a  just  idea  of  the  tremendous  scene  of  carnage, 
wreck,  and  ruin,  that  everywhere  appeared. 
Humanity  cannot  but  recoil  from  the  pros 
pect  of  such  finished  horror,  and  lament  that 
war  should  produce  such  fatal  consequences." 
Captain  Pearson  also  notices,  in  his  official 
letter  to  the  Admiralty,  the  dreadful  spectacle 
the  Richard  presented.  He  says,  "  On  my 
going  on  board  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  I 
found  her  to  be  in  the  greatest  distress  ;  her 
counters  and  quarters  on  the  lower  deck  en 
tirely  drove  in,  and  the  whole  of  her  lower- 
deck  guns  dismounted ;  she  was  also  on  fire  in 
two  places,  and  six  or  seven  feet  water  in  her 
hold,  which  kept  increasing  upon  them  all 
night  and  the  next  day,  till  they  were  obliged 
to  quit  her,  and  she  sunk  with  a  great  number 
of  her  wounded  people  on  board  her."  *  The 
regret  which  he  must,  at  any  rate,  have  felt  in 
surrendering,  must  have  been  much  augment- 

*  This  was  a  mistake.  Jones  says,  in  his  official  let 
ter;  "  No  lives  were  lost  with  the  ship,  but  it  was  impossi 
ble  to  save  the  stores  of  any  sort  whatever.  I  lost  even 
the  best  part  of  my  clothes,  books,  and  papers ;  and  se^- 
eral  of  my  officers  lost  all  their  clothes  and  effects." 


Mr.  32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  199 

ed  by  these  observations,  and  by  what  he 
must  have  seen  of  the  motley  composition  of 
the  Richard's  crew. 

On  the  morning  after  the  action,  a  survey 
was  held  upon  the  Poor  Richard,  which  was 
now,  more  than  ever,  entitled  to  her  name. 
After  a  deliberate  examination,  the  carpenters 
and  other  surveying  officers  were  unanimous 
ly  of  opinion,  that  the  ship  could  not  be  kept 
afloat,  so  as  to  reach  a  port,  if  the  wind  should 
increase.  The  task  of  removing  the  wounded 
was  now  commenced,  and  completed  in  the 
course  of  the  night  and  following  morning. 
The  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  in  mer 
chant  ships  were  left  until  the  wounded  were 
all  removed.  Taking  advantage  of  the  confu 
sion,  and  of  their  superiority  of  numbers,  they 
took  possession  of  the  ship,  and  got  her  head 
in  for  the  land,  towards  which  the  wind  was 
now  blowing.  A  contest  ensued,  and,  as  the 
Englishmen  had  few  arms,  they  were  speedily 
overcome.  Two  of  them  were  shot  dead,  sev 
eral  wounded  and  driven  overboard,  and  thir 
teen  of  them  got  possession  of  a  boat  and 
escaped  to  the  shore. 


200  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Jones  was  very  anxious  to  keep  the  Rich- 
ard  afloat,  and,  if  possible,  to  bring  her  into 
port,  doubtless  from  the  very  justifiable  vanity 
of  showing  how  desperately  he  had  fought 
her.  In  order  to  effect  this  object,  he  kept 
the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Pallas  on  board  of 
her,  with  a  party  of  men  to  work  the  pumps, 
having  boats  in  waiting  to  remove  them,  in  the 
event  of  her  sinking.  During  the  night  of  the 
24th,  the  wind  had  freshened,  and  still  con 
tinued  to  freshen  on  the  morning  of  the  25th, 
when  all  further  efforts  to  save  her  were  found 
unavailing.  The  water  was  running  in  and 
out  of  her  ports,  and  swashing  up  her  hatch 
ways.  About  nine  o'clock,  it  became  necessa 
ry  to  abandon  her,  the  water  then  being  up  to 
the  lower  deck  ;  an  hour  later,  she  rolled  as  if 
losing  her  balance,  and,  settling  forward,  went 
down  bows  first,  her  stern  and  mizzen-mast  be 
ing  last  seen.  "  A  little  after  ten,"  says  Jones 
in  his  report,  "  I  saw,  with  inexpressible  grief, 
the  last  glimpse  of  the  Bon  Homme  Rich 
ard."  The  grief  was  a  natural  one,  but  far 
from  being  destitute  of  consolation  ;  the  clos 
ing  scene  of  the  Poor  Richard,  like  the  death 


/Ex.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  201 

of  Nelson  on  board  the  Victory,  in  the  mo 
ment  of  winning  a  new  title  to  the  name,  was 
indeed  a  glorious  one.  Her  shattered  shell 
afforded  an  honorable  receptacle  for  the  re 
mains  of  the  Americans,  who  had  fallen  dur 
ing  the  action. 

The  best  commentary  that  we  can  offer  on 
the  battle  between  the  Richard  and  the  Se- 
rapis,  is  to  be  found  in  the  faithful  narrative 
in  which  we  have  embodied  all  the  facts  that 
have  been  related  with  regard  to  it,  from 
whatever  source  they  can  be  derived.  It  is 
strongly  corroborative  of  the  truth  of  the  va 
rious  statements,  that  they  do  not,  in  any  re 
spect,  differ  materially  from  each  other.  In 
Sherburne's  "  Life  of  Paul  Jones,"  we  find  a 
detailed  statement  of  the  relative  force  of  the 
Richard  and  the  Scrapis,  which,  from  its  par 
ticularity,  is  doubtless  correct.  It,  moreover, 
agrees  with  the  relative  rates  of  the  two  ves 
sels,  as  given  by  their  respective  commanders. 
The  Richard  is  called  by  Captain  Pearson  a 
forty-gun  ship,  while  the  Scrapis  is  stated  by 
the  pilot,  who  described  her  to  Jones  when 
she  was  first  made,  to  have  been  a  forty-four. 


202  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Jones  and  Dale  also  give  her  the  same  rate. 
The  Richard,  as  we  have  seen,  mounted  six 
eighteen-pounders  in  her  gun-room,  on  her 
berth-deck,  where  port-holes  had  been  opened 
near  the  water ;  fourteen  twelve  and  fourteen 
nine-pounders  on  her  main  deck,  and  eight 
six-pounders  on  the  quarter-deck,  gangways, 
and  forecastle.  The  weight  of  shot  thrown 
by  her,  at  a  single  broadside,  would  thus  be 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  With 
regard  to  her  crew,  she  started  from  L'Orient 
with  three  hundred  and  eighty  men.  She  had 
manned  several  prizes,  which,  with  the  deser 
tion  of  the  barge's  crew  on  the  coast  of  Ire 
land,  and  the  absence  of  those  who  went  in 
pursuit  under  the  master,  and  never  returned, 
together  with  the  fifteen  men  sent  away  in 
the  pilot  boat,  under  the  second  lieutenant, 
just  before  the  action,  and  who  did  not  return 
until  after  it  was  over,  reduced  the  crew,  ac 
cording  to  Jones's  statement,  to  three  hundred 
and  forty  men  at  its  commencement.  This 
calculation  seems  a  very  fair  one  ;  for,  by  tak 
ing  the  statement  of  those  who  had  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Ireland,  as  given  in  a  contempo- 


^Ex.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  203 

rary  English  paper,  at  twenty-four,  those  who 
were  absent  in  the  pilot  boat,  being  sixteen  in 
number,  and  allowing  five  of  the  nine  prizes 
taken  by  the  Richard,  to  have  been  manned 
from  her,  with  average  crews  of  five  men 
each,  the  total  reduction  from  her  original 
crew  may  be  computed  to  be  seventy  men. 
Eight  or  ten  more  escaped,  during  the  action, 
in  a  boat  towing  astern  of  the  Serapis.  To 
have  had  three  hundred  and  forty  men  at  the 
commencement  of  the  action,  as  Jones  states 
he  had,  he  must  have  obtained  recruits  from 
the  crews  of  his  prizes. 

In  the  muster-roll  of  the  Richard's  crew  in 
the  battle,  as  given  by  Mr.  Sherburne,  from  an 
official  source,  we  find  only  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  names.  This  can  hardly  have 
been  complete  ;  still  the  document  is  interest 
ing,  inasmuch  as  it  enumerates  the  killed  and 
wounded  by  name,  there  being  forty-two  killed 
and  forty  wounded.  It  also  states  the  coun 
try  of  most  of  the  crew  ;  by  which  it  appears 
that  there  were  seventy-one  Americans,  fifty- 
seven  acknowledged  Englishmen,  twenty-one 
Portuguese,  and  the  rest  of  the  motley  collec- 


204  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

tion  was  made  up  of  Swedes,  Norwegians, 
Irish,  and  East-Indians.  Many  of  those  not 
named  in  this  imperfect  muster-roll,  were  prob 
ably  Americans. 

With  regard  to  the  SerapiSj  her  battery 
consisted  of  twenty  eighteens  on  the  lower 
gun-deck,  twenty  nines  on  the  uppey  gun- 
deck,  and  ten  sixes  on  the  quarter-deck  and 
forecastle.  She  had  two  complete  batteries, 
and  her  construction  was,  in  all  respects,  that 
of  a  line-of-battle  ship.  The  weight  of  shot 
thrown  by  her  single  broadside  was  three 
hundred  pounds,  being  seventy-five  pounds 
more  than  that  of  the  Richard.  Her  crew 
consisted  of  three  hundred  and  twenty ;  all 
Englishmen,  except  fifteen  Lascars,  and,  as 
such,  superior  to  the  motley  and  partially  dis 
affected  assemblage  of  the  Richard.  The  su 
periority  of  the  Scrapis,  in  size  and  weight, 
as  well  as  efficiency  of  battery,  was,  moreover, 
greatly  increased  by  the  strength  of  her  con 
struction.  She  was  a  new  ship,  built  express 
ly  for  a  man-of-war,  and  equipped  in  the  most 
complete  manner  by  the  first  of  naval  powers. 
The  Richard  was  originally  a  merchantman, 


yEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  205 

worn  out  by  long  use  and  rotten  from  age. 
She  was  fitted,  in  a  make-shift  manner,  with 
whatever  refuse  guns  and  materials  could  be 
hastily  procured,  at  a  small  expense,  from  the 
limited  means  appropriated  to  her  armament. 

The  overwhelming  superiority  thus  possess 
ed  by  the  Serapis,  was  evident  in  the  action. 
Two  of  the  three  lower-deck  guns  of  the 
Richard  burst  at  the  first  fire,  scattering  death 
on  every  side,  whilst  the  guns  of  the  Serapis 
remained  serviceable  during  the  whole  action, 
and  their  effect  on  the  decayed  sides  of  the 
Richard  was  literally  to  tear  her  to  pieces. 
On  the  contrary,  the  few  light  guns  which 
continued  to  be  used  in  the  Rlr.hard,  under 
the  immediate  direction  of  her  commander, 
produced  little  impression  on  the  hull  of  the 
Serapis.  They  were  usefully  directed  to  de 
stroy  her  masts  and  clear  her  upper  deck, 
which,  with  the  aid  of  the  destructive  and 
well-sustained  fire  from  the  tops,  was  eventu 
ally  effected.  The  achievement  of  the  victory 
was,  however,  wholly  and  solely  due  to  the 
immovable  courage  of  Paul  Jones.  The  Rich 
ard  was  beaten  more  than  once  ;  but  the  spirit 
of  Jones  could  not  be  overcome.  Captain 


206  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Pearson  was  a  brave  man,  and  well  deserved 
the  honor  of  knighthood,  which  awaited  him 
on  his  arrival  in  England ;  but  Paul  Jones 
had  a  nature  which  never  could  have  yielded. 
Had  Pearson  been  equally  indomitable,  the 
Richard,  if  not  boarded  from  below,  would, 
at  last,  have  gone  down  with  her  colors  still 
flying  in  proud  defiance. 

The  wounded  of  the  Serapis  appear,  by  the 
Surgeon's  report,  accompanying  Captain  Pear 
son's  letter  to  the  Admiralty,  to  have  amount 
ed  to  seventy-five  men,  eight  of  whom  died 
of  their  wounds.  Of  the  wounded,  thirty- 
three  are  stated  to  have  been  "  miserably 
scorched,"  doubtless  by  the  explosion  of  the 
cartridges  on  the  main  deck.  Captain  Pear 
son  states,  that  there  were  many  more,  both 
killed  and  wounded,  than  appeared  on  the  list, 
but  that  he  had  been  unable  to  ascertain  their 
names  ;  the  list  of  killed  on  board  the  Serapis 
does  not  appear  in  the  account  published  by 
Mr.  Sherburne.  Jones  states  the  number  of 
wounded  on  board  the  Scrapis  as  more  than 
a  hundred,  and  that  the  killed  were  probably 
as  numerous.  The  surviving  prisoners,  tak 
en  from  the  Serapis  and  the  Countess  of  Scar- 


J£T.  32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONKS.  207 

boron  gJi,  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  fif 
ty  ;  the  whole  number  of  prisoners,  including 
those  previously  taken  from  captured  merchant 
vessels,  amounted  to  near  five  hundred. 

During  the  engagement  between  the  Rich 
ard  and  the  Sera-pis,  the  Pallas,  commanded 
by  Captain  Cottineau,  seems  to  have  done  her 
duty.  She  engaged  the  Countess  of  Scarbor 
ough,  and  captured  her  after  an  hour's  close 
action.  The  Pallas  was  a  frigate  of  thirty- 
two  guns,  and  the  Countess  of  Scarborough 
a  single-decked  ship,  mounting  twenty  six- 
pounders.  The  Alliance,  in  the  course  of  the 
night,  also  fired  into  the  Pallas  and  the  Count 
ess  of  Scarborough,  while  engaged,  and  killed 
several  of  the  Pallas's  men.  Subsequently 
to  the  engagement,  it  was  attested  by  the 
mass  of  officers  in  the  squadron,  that  about 
eight  o'clock  the  Alliance  raked  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard  with  grape  and  cross-bar, 
killing  a  number  of  men,  and  dismounting 
several  guns.  He  afterwards  made  sail  for 
where  the  Pallas  and  the  Scarborough  were 
engaged,  and,  after  hovering  about  until  the 
latter  struck,  communicated  by  hailing  with 
both  vessels,  and  then  stood  back  to  the  Rich- 


208  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

ard,  and,  coming  up  on  her  larboard  quar 
ter,  about  half  past  nine,  fired  again  into  her  ; 
passing  along  her  larboard  beam,  he  then 
luffed  up  on  her  lee  bow,  and  renewed  his 
raking  fire.  It  was  proved,  that  the  Alli 
ance  never  passed  on  the  larboard  side  of  the 
Serapis,  but  always  kept  the  Richard  be 
tween  her  and  the  enemy.  The  officers  of 
the  Richard  were  of  opinion  that  Landais's 
object  was  to  kill  Jones  and  disable  his  ship, 
so  as  afterwards  to  have  himself  an  easy  victo 
ry  over  the  Sera-pis.  As  it  was,  he  subse 
quently  claimed  the  credit  of  the  victory,  on 
the  plea  of  having  raked  the  Serapis.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  he  was  actuated  by 
jealous  and  treacherous  feelings  towards  Jones, 
and  by  base  timidity.*  The  Vengeance  also 
behaved  badly  ;  neither  she  nor  the  Alliance 
made  any  prizes  from  among  the  fleet  of  mer 
chantmen,  and  the  whole  escaped  under  cover 
of  Flamborough  head,  and  the  adjacent  har 
bours.  Lieutenant  Henry  Lunt,  who  was  ab- 

*  Several  of  these  circumstances  have  a  strange  simi 
larity  to  what  has  occurred  in  our  own  times,  in  the  bat 
tle  on  Lake  Erie,  of  which  the  writer  proposes  to  treat  at 
large,  in  a  life  of  Commodore  Perry. 


^Er.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  209 

sent  in  the  pilot  boat  with  fifteen  of  the  Rich 
ard's  best  men,  lay  in  sight  of  the  Richard, 
during  the  action,  but  "  thought  it  not  prudent 
to  go  along  side  in  time  ofSction."  His  con 
duct  at  least  involved  a  great  error  of  judg 
ment,  which  no  doubt  he  lived  to  repent. 

The  conduct  of  Jones  throughout  this  bat 
tle  displayed  great  skill  and  the  noblest  hero 
ism.  He  carried  his  ship  into  action  in  the 
most  gallant  style,  and,  while  he  commanded 
with  ability,  excited  his  followers  by  his  per 
sonal  example.  We  find  him,  in  the  course 
of  the  action,  himself  assisting  to  lash  the 
ships  together,  aiding  in  the  service  of  the  on 
ly  battery,  from  which  a  fire  was  still  kept  up, 
and,  when  the  Scrapis  attempted  to  board, 
rushing,  pike  in  hand,  to  meet  and  repel  the  as 
sailants.  No  difficulties  or  perplexities  seemed 
to  appall  him  or  disturb  his  judgment,  and  his 
courage  and  skill  were  equalled  by  his  im 
movable  self-composure.  The  achievement 
of  this  victory  was  solely  due  to  his  brilliant 
display  of  all  the  qualities  essential  to  the  for 
mation  of  a  great  naval  commander. 

VOL.     I.  14 


210  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


[MT 


Damages  of  the  Serapis  repaired.  —  The  Squadron  steers  for  Dun 
kirk.  —  Jones's  Colleagues  run  for  the  Texel.  —  The  Serapis  fol 
lows. —  Arrival  in  the  Texel. — The  English  Squadron  appears 
off  the  Port.  — The  Squadron  refits.  —Jones  visits  Amsterdam. 

—  His  enthusiastic  Reception.  —  Shows    Himself  on   the   Ex 
change. —  His  Appearance.  —  Sympathy  of  the  Dutch  for  Amer 
ica.  —  The  British  Minister  demands  a  Surrender  of  Jones  and 
his  Prizes.  —  Not  complied  with. — The  Squadron  allowed  to 
refit.  —  Jones  takes  Possession  of  a  Fort  on  the  Texel,  as  a 
Hospital  for  the   Wounded.  —  Agreement  for   an  Exchange  of 
Prisoners.  —  Franklin's   Opinion  of  the    Victory.  —  Arrest   of 
Landais.  —  Charges  against  him.  —  Fights  Captain  Cottineau, — 
Challenges  Jones.  —  Escapes  to  Paris.  —  Jones's  Perplexities. 

—  The  Squadron  ordered  to  depart. — The  Prizes  and  French 
Ships  hoist  French  Colors.  —  Jones  removes  to  the  Alliance.  — 
Renewed  Orders  to  depart.  —  Prisoners  reSmbarked.  —  Part  of 
them  delivered  to  France. 


WHEN  Jones  took  command  of  the  Serapis^ 
he  hastened  to  erect  a  jury  main-mast  and  re 
pair  her  damages.  Having  beheld  the  melan 
choly  spectacle  of  the  sinking  of  the  Poor 
Richard,  he  shaped  his  course  for  Dunkirk, 
which  port  he  was  desirous  of  making,  as  the 
most  favorable  point  for  exchanging  his  pris 
oners,  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  England. 
The  squadron  encountered  contrary  winds  for 
ten  days  subsequent  to  the  action.  At  length, 


yET.3°2.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  211 

Jones's  "  colleagues,"  as  he  styles  the  captains 
under  his  command,  insisted  upon  proceeding 
to  the  Texel,  instead  of  beating  up  for  Dun 
kirk,  and  actually  bore  away  and  left  him  to 
windward,  which  obliged  him  to  follow. 

Jones  ascribes  this  and  all  the  other  insub 
ordination,  of  which  he  was  the  victim,  to  the 
unfortunate  "  concordat,"  which  M.  Chau- 
mont  had  induced  him  to  sign  in  common 
with  the  other  captains,  and  which  substituted 
a  species  of  joint  agency  for  the  principle  of 
unquestioning  obedience.  The  inferior  com 
manders  were,  moreover,  as  Jones  alleges, 
made  acquainted,  by  M.  Chaumont,  with  the 
destination,  object,  and  proposed  duration  of 
the  cruise.  From  this  they  learned  that  Jones 
had  been  ordered  to  terminate  his  cruise  in 
the  Texel,  and  were  indisposed  to  allow  him 
the  exercise  of  his  discretion  in  seeking  first 
another  port,  for  reasons  which  seemed  good 
to  him,  but  were  not  foreseen  by  Franklin, 
when  the  orders  were  given. 

Submitting  to  this  affront  with  the  best 
grace  that  he  was  able,  which  was  not  a  very 
good  one,  Jones  bore  away  in  pursuit  of  his 


212  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

disorderly  followers,  and  anchored  on  the  3d 
of  October,  in  the  Texel.  As  he  entered  the 
roads,  an  English  squadron,  consisting  of  a 
sixty-four  and  three  frigates,  which  had  ar 
rived  off  Flamborough  Head  the  day  after  he 
left  it,  and  which  had  been  ever  since  in  pur 
suit  of  him,  hove  in  sight.  The  Dutch  com 
mander  in  the  roads  objected  to  the  entry  of 
the  squadron :  but  Jones  insisted  on  running 
into  the  harbour  and  anchoring,  pleading  the 
necessities  of  his  situation,  as  an  excuse  for 
taking  the  hospitality  which  was  not  volunta 
rily  tendered  to  him.  The  British  ships  re 
mained  in  the  offing,  blockading  the  port. 

Having  made  arrangements  for  the  immedi 
ate  refittal  of  the  SerapiSj  which  required  new 
spars  and  rigging  nearly  throughout,  and  for 
preparing  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  to  pro 
ceed  to  Dunkirk  with  the  prisoners,  if  it  should 
become  necessary,  Jones  went  to  Amsterdam 
to  take  part  in  the  negotiation  likely  to  grow 
out  of  his  entry  into  the  port  of  a  country  in 
alliance  with  England,  and  to  meet  the  remon 
strances  which  the  British  Minister  was  sure 
to  make  against  his  claims  to  a  hospitable 
reception. 


* 

jfcT.32.]  LI$E  OF  PAUL  JONES.  213 

The  fargfe  of  his  achievement,  which  had 
preceded  him,  and  which  spread  far  and  wide 
^throughout  the  civilized  world,  wherever  he 
roism  had  admirers  and  England  enemies,  se 
cured  him  a  brilliant  welcome  to  the  commer 
cial  capital  of  Holland.  The  dismay  and  rage 
felt  in  England  at  finding  her  coasts  again  in 
vaded  by  the  ships  of  her  former  colonies,  in 
defiance  of  her  invincible  fleets,  and  at  the 
capture  of  one  of  her  finest  ships  by  an  ene 
my  of  greatly  inferior  force,  after  an  action 
unsurpassed  for  its  sanguinary  and  desperate 
character,  was  only  equalled  by  the  exultation 
and  sympathy  everywhere  felt  among  those 
who  had  so  long  quailed  before  British  mari 
time  power,  and  the  despotic  spirit  with  which 
it  was  exercised.  If  then  the  press  of  Eng 
land  gave  way  to  unmeasured  vituperation  of 
the  "  pirate  "  who  had  defied  her  power,  hum 
bled  her  pride,  and  broken  the  charm  of  her 
invincibility  on  the  ocean,  that  of  Europe 
generally  was  as  unmeasured  in  the  eulogy, 
with  which  it  welcomed  the  triumphant  chief 
tain. 

On    the   7th    of  October,   Jones   arrived  at 


214  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Amsterdam,  and  with  characteristic  and  par 
donable  vanity,  made  his  appearance  at  the 
Exchange.  In  a  contemporary  letter,  published  / 
in  a  London  newspaper  of  the  day,  he  is  de 
scribed  as  being  of  middling  stature,  with  a 
stern  countenance,  and  swarthy,  weather-worn 
complexion.  He  wore  the  continental  uni 
form,  picturesquely  set  off  by  a  Scotch  bonnet 
edged  with  gold,  to  give  him  more  the  air  of 
a  hero  of  romance.  His  reception  was  most 
enthusiastic ;  business  is  represented  to  have 
given  way  to  lively  interest  and  curiosity,  and 
the  crowd  pressed  round  him  with  cheers  and 
compliments,  until  he  was  compelled  to  with 
draw  to  a  room,  fronting  the  public  square, 
whence  the  anxiety  of  the  multitude  could  be 
gratified  by  a  sight  of  his  person. 

On  the  following  day,  the  Commodore  made 
a  flying  visit  to  the  Hague,  from  which  he  re 
turned  the  day  after.  Nor  does  it  appear  that 
he  again  visited  the  Court,  though  pressingly 
invited  to  do  so  by  many  distinguished  per 
sons,  who  were  desirous  of  hospitably  enter 
taining  him,  and  offering  him  the  homage  of 
their  admiration.  "  Duty,"  he  replied  to  the 


iEx.32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  215 

correspondent  who  had  forwarded  to  him  some 
invitations,  "  must  take  the  precedence  of 
pleasure.  I  must  wait  a  more  favorable  op 
portunity  to  kiss  the  hands  of  the  fair." 

The  enthusiasm  awakened  by  the  heroism 
of  Jones  was  not  merely  gratifying  to  his  own 
vanity.  It  rendered  essential  service  to  the 
country  of  his  adoption,  and  the  cause  in 
which  he  was  so  heartily  engaged.  Holland 
was  bound  by  treaties  with  England,  some 
what  compulsory  perhaps,  on  her  part,  to  make 
common  cause  with  her  against  every  enemy. 
The  memory  of  her  former  naval,  and  her 
still  existing  commercial  rivalry,  must  have 
made  her  hail  with  pleasure  the  discomfiture 
of  her  powerful  ally.  Naval  stores  and  muni 
tions  of  war,  for  the  assistance  of  the  United 
States,  in  their  struggle  for  independence,  had 
already  been  covertly  shipped  from  Holland. 
She  was  already  meditating  an  accession  to  the 
armed  neutrality,  against  the  blockades  and 
naval  assumptions  of  England,  then  maturing 
under  the  influence  of  Russia,  and  to  which 
Holland  became  a  party  in  the  course  of  the 
following  year.  The  citizens  of  Holland  were 


216  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

openly,  and  her  government  secretly,  desirous 
of  our  success  j  from  enmity  to  England,  no 
less  than  from  enthusiasm  in  favor  of  the  gen 
erous  cause  in  which  we  fought. 

A  treaty  had  already  been  secretly  negotiat 
ed  between  Mr.  Laurens  and  the  Grand  Pen 
sionary  of  Amsterdam,  the  knowledge  of  which 
reached  the  British  cabinet  by  the  capture  of 
Mr.  Laurens.  Among  papers  thrown  over 
board  by  him,  previous  to  his  capture,  but  re 
covered  from  the  water,  was  a  copy  of  the 
treaty.  This  awakened  the  attention  of  the 
British  government  to  what  was  passing  in 
Holland.  Its  able  minister  at  the  Hague,  Sir 
Joseph  Yorke,  was  instructed  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  court  narrowly,  and  exact 
the  rigorous  fulfilment  of  its  treaties.  With 
this  view,  he  addressed  the  government  on 
the  9th  of  October,  communicating  the  fact, 
that  two  of  the  King's  ships,  the  Serapis  and 
the  Countess  of  Scarborough  had  arrived  in 
the  Texel  a  few  days  before,  "  having  been 
attacked  and  taken  by  force,  by  a  certain  Paul 
Jones,  a  subject  of  the  King,  who,  according 
to  treaties  and  the  laws  of  war,  can  only  be 


^ET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JOJNES.  217 

considered  as  a  rebel  and  a  pirate."  Sir  Jo 
seph  Yorke  accordingly  demanded  that  imme 
diate  orders  should  be  given  for  the  arrest  of 
the  ships,  with  their  officers  and  crews.  He 
also  solicited  that  the  wounded  Englishmen 
might  be  landed,  to  be  cured  at  the  expense 
of  England. 

The  government  of  Holland  was  of  course 
greatly  embarrassed  by  this  demand,  and  by 
the  conflict  which  it  occasioned  between  their 
treaty  obligations  to  England,  and  their  strong 
sympathies  in  the  success  of  our  cause.  Frank 
lin  is  said  to  have  had  a  double  object  in  or 
dering  Jones  to  terminate  his  cruise  at  the 
Texel  :  in  the  first  place,  to  get  out  the  In- 
dien,  the  command  of  which  he  still  hoped  to 
secure  for  Jones  ;  and,  in  the  second,  to  in 
volve  Holland  in  a  difficulty  with  England, 
growing  out  of  the  hospitality  to  be  afforded 
to  our  flag,  and  thus  to  increase  the  chances  of 
an  open  declaration  in  our  favor.  The  result 
showed  his  characteristic  sagacity.  When  war 
was  eventually  declared  by  England  against 
Holland,  the  chief  complaint  against  Holland, 
set  forth  in  the  manifesto,  was  the  hospitality 


218  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

which  she  had  extended  to  the  American 
squadron  and  its  prizes  ;  suffering  "  an  Amer 
ican  pirate  to  remain,  several  weeks,  in  one  of 
her  ports,  and  even  permitting  part  of  his  crew 
to  mount  guard  in  a  fort  on  the  Texel."  It 
was  not  until  the  25th,  that  the  Dutch  gov 
ernment  replied  to  Sir  Joseph,  informing  him 
that  Holland  had,  for  a  century,  strictly  ab 
stained  from  deciding  as  to  the  legality  of 
the  captures  of  vessels  brought  into  her  ports. 
She  simply  opened  her  ports  to  give  shelter  to 
captors  and  their  prizes,  from  storms  or  disas 
ters,  and  obliged  them  to  put  to  sea  without 
unlading.  The  government  declined  passing 
any  judgment  either  upon  Paul  Jones  or  the 
legality  of  his  captures.  It  had,  however,  al 
ready  evinced  its  willingness  to  discharge  the 
offices  of  humanity,  by  the  orders  it  had  given 
with  regard  to  the  wounded  prisoners.  The 
States-General  had  previously  deliberated  on 
the  subject,  and,  after  consultation  with  the 
courts  of  Admiralty,  decided  to  suffer  the 
ships  to  make  such  repairs  as  were  actually 
necessary  for  their  putting  to  sea ;  also  to  land 
the  wounded  for  their  recovery.  They  de- 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  219 

clined  all  responsibility  for  the  escape  of  the 
prisoners,  the  care  of  whom  was  thus  relin 
quished  to  the  captors,  instead  of  their  being 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  in 
conformity  with  his  demand. 

By  virtue  of  an  order  from  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  the  Commodore  now  removed  his 
wounded  to  a  fort  on  the  Texel.  He  had 
authority  to  place  sentinels  to  guard  his  prison 
ers,  and  to  raise  the  drawbridge  over  the  ditch, 
at  his  pleasure,  for  their  greater  security.  He 
completed  his  arrangements  for  their  safe  keep 
ing,  by  appointing  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wei- 
bert  to  the  command  of  the  hospital,  and  of 
the  troops  stationed  for  the  care  of  the  prison 
ers.  About  the  same  time,  he  secured  him 
self  still  further  against  the  chances  of  deser 
tion  among  his  prisoners,  and  set  wholly  at 
rest  the  question  of  his  property  in  them,  hith 
erto  contested  by  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  by  enter 
ing  into  an  agreement  with  Captain  Pearson, 
for  the  exchange  of  all  his  prisoners,  amount 
ing  to  five  hundred  and  four,  for  an  equal 
number  of  Americans  ;  and  it  was  agreed  be 
tween  the  contracting  parties,  that  all  the  pris- 


220  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

oners  landed  in  the  fort  should  be  considered 
as  such  until  their  regular  exchange  ;  so  that 
in  the  event  of  any  of  them  deserting,  an 
equal  number  of  Americans  should  be  released 
in  England,  and  sent  to  France  by  the  first 
cartel. 

Of  all  the  sympathy  and  admiration  which 
Jones's  achievement  excited  far  and  wide,  and 
among  all  the  congratulatory  epistles  which  it 
called  forth,  the  dearest  to  his  heart,  as  well 
as  the  most  honorable  to  his  reputation,  was 
that  of  Franklin.  The  sage  wrote  to  him  as 
follows  ;  "  For  some  days  after  the  arrival  of 
your  express,  scarce  any  thing  was  talked  of 
at  Paris  and  Versailles,  but  your  cool  conduct; 
and  persevering  bravery  during  that  terrible 
conflict.  You  may  believe  that  the  impres 
sion  on  my  mind  was  not  less  strong  than  that 
of  others ;  but  I  do  not  choose  to  say  in  a 
letter  to  yourself  all  I  think  on  such  an  oc 
casion." 

He  subsequently  adds  ;  "I  am  uneasy  about 
your  prisoners ;  I  wish  they  were  safe  in 
France.  You  will  then  have  completed  the 
glorious  work  of  giving  liberty  to  all  the 


JEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  221 

Americans  that  have  so  long  languished  for  it, 
in  the  British  prisons ;  for  there  are  not  so 
many  there,  as  you  have  now  taken."  This 
passage  must  have  been  peculiarly  gratifying 
to  Jones.  From  the  outset  of  his  cruise  in 
the  Ranger,  it  had  been  a  favorite  object 
with  him  to  procure  the  release  of  all  the 
American  prisoners  in  England,  by  capturing 
Englishmen.  It  was  this,  which  suggested 
the  project  of  seizing  the  person  of  Lord  Sel 
kirk  ;  and  which  was  the  source  of  the  great 
est  gratification  to  him,  in  the  capture  of  the 
Drake.  By  his  last  cruise,  he  had,  at  length, 
prepared  the  completion  of  the  humane  task 
which  he  had  assigned  to  himself,  and  Frank 
lin's  letter  gave  him  the  gratifying  assurance 
that  "  the  glorious  work  "  was  about  to  be 
accomplished. 

Many  of  his  letters  of  this  period  evinced 
a  lively  interest  in  the  fate  of  a  Captain  Cun 
ningham,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  a  conti 
nental  officer,  but  who  was  probably  the  cap 
tain  of  a  privateer,  at  that  time  a  prisoner  in 
England.  Jones  was  desirous  of  exchanging 
Captain  Pearson  for  him,  and  this  he  had  the 


222  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

satisfaction  eventually  to  effect.  Some  com 
plaint  had  been  made  by  Captain  Pearson  to 
Jones,  of  a  want  of  attention  to  the  comforts 
of  his  men,  and  of  courtesy  to  himself.  In 
the  course  of  his  reply,  Jones,  after  having 
vindicated  himself  from  the  charges,  goes  on 
to  say  ;  "I  know  not  what  difference  of  re 
spect  is  due  to  rank,  between  your  service  and 
ours ;  I  suppose,  however,  the  difference  must 
be  very  great  in  England,  since  I  am  informed 
that  Captain  Cunningham,  who  bears  a  senior 
rank,  in  the  service  of  America,  to  yours  in  the 
service  of  England,  is  now  confined  at  Plym 
outh,  in  a  dungeon  and  in  fetters."  The  in 
terest  taken  by  Jones  in  the  fate  of  Captain 
Cunningham,  and  of  the  American  prisoners 
in  England  generally,  the  whole  of  whom  it 
was  his  proud  work  to  have  been  the  means 
of  releasing,  is  conclusive  as  to  the  eminent 
ly  humane  feelings  by  which  he  was  charac 
terized.  His  bravery  was  both  equalled  and 
adorned  by  his  sympathetic  humanity  for  the 
sufferings  of  his  fellow-men. 

With  regard  to  Captain  Pearson,  so  far  from 
having  any  just  motive  of  complaint  against 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JOIXES.  223 

the  Commodore  for  failing  in  courtesy  to  him, 
he  was  himself  grossly  rude  to  Jones  through 
out  the  whole  of  his  intercourse  with  him,  and 
invariably  repelled  all  his  efforts  to  soothe  his 
irritation,  and  treat  him  with  civility.  Cap 
tain  Pearson  had  a  large  quantity  of  plate  on 
board  the  Serapis,  of  which  Jones,  having 
lost  all  his  own  in  the  Richard,  necessarily 
made  use  until  he  could  replace  his  furniture. 
Pearson  had  been  allowed  to  go  on  parole  to 
the  Holder  with  his  officers.  Jones  now  had 
all  the  plate,  arms,  and  effects  of  every  descrip 
tion,  belonging  to  Captain  Pearson,  packed 
and  sent  to  him  by  a  lieutenant,  with  his  po 
lite  compliments.  Pearson  rudely  replied  that 
he  could  receive  nothing  from  the  hands  of  a 
rebel.  He  intimated,  however,  that  if  his 
plate  were  offered  to  him  by  Captain  Cotti- 
neau,  who  was  an  officer  of  the  French  King, 
it  would  be  received.  Jones  magnanimously 
overlooked  this  intolerable  insolence  and  ca 
price,  and  sent  the  plate  in  the  form  which 
had  been  pointed  out.  It  was  received  with 
out  one  word  of  thanks  or  compliments  to  the 
generous  victor. 


224  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

In  reply  to  the  complaint  which  Paul  Jones 
had  made,  in  his  official  report,  of  the  conduct 
of  Landais,  during  the  cruise  generally,  and 
especially  during  the  engagement  with  the 
SerapiS)  Franklin  testified  his  strongest  dis 
pleasure,  as  well  as  that  of  the  French  court, 
at  the  behaviour  of  this  miserable  man.  He 
directed  that  he  should  be  sent  to  Paris,  in 
reality  to  get  him  out  of  the  way,  but  ostensi 
bly  with  the  view  of  furnishing  him  an  op 
portunity  of  offering  what  he  had  to  say  in 
his  justification,  as  it  was  not  then  convenient 
to  order  a  court  for  his  trial.  Jones  was  in 
structed,  at  the  same  time,  to  furnish  a  list  of 
the  charges  alleged  against  him,  together  with 
the  evidence  in  support  of  them,  that  Frank 
lin  might  be  able  to  give  a  just  account  of  his 
conduct  to  Congress.  In  the  event  of  his  fail 
ing  to  obey  Franklin's  order  to  repair  to  Paris, 
Jones  was  directed  to  arrest  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  Landais,  instead  of  being 
overwhelmed  with  shame  at  his  own  baseness, 
put  himself  forward  as  the  hero  of  the  engage 
ment  with  the  Serapis,  and  insisted  that  his 
raking  fire  had  caused  her  to  surrender,  though 


jE-r.32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  225 

ample  evidence  existed,  that  it  could  only 
have  reached  her  through  the  sides  of  the 
Richard.  He,  moreover,  affected  a  perfect  in 
dependence  of  Jones,  and  made  requisitions 
for  supplies,  without  consulting  him.  After 
figuring  as  a  hero,  at  Amsterdam,  he  made  his 
appearance  at  the  Hague,  with  the  same  ob 
ject  of  self-glorification,  when  he  was  arrested 
in  mid-career,  by  Franklin's  summons  to  Par 
is.  The  charges  against  him,  required  by 
Franklin,  were  presently  forwarded.  They 
were  not  drawn  up  in  the  name  of  Jones,  but 
began  as  follows  :  "  We,  the  officers  of  the 
American  squadron,  now  at  the  Texel,  this 
thirtieth  day  of  October,  1779,  do  attest  and 
declare  upon  our  words  of  honor,  as  gentle 
men,  that  all  the  following  articles,  which  we 
subscribe,  respecting  the  conduct  of  Peter  Lan- 
dais,  Captain  of  the  Frigate  Alliance,  are  real 
ly  and  truly  matters  of  fact.  In  witness 
whereof  we  hereunto  sign  our  names  and 
qualities ;  and  will,  at  any  time  hereafter,  be 
ready  to  prove  the  same  upon  oath  if  re 
quired." 

The  charges  stated,  among  other  things,  that 

VOL.     I.  15 


226  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

Landais  had  behaved  with  disrespect  and  im 
pertinence  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
squadron,  on  many  occasions  ;  that  he  had  dis 
obeyed  the  signals ;  that  he  very  seldom  an 
swered  them ;  that  he  purposely  separated 
from  the  squadron  on  two  occasions ;  that 
when  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  came  in  sight 
of  the  Alliance  and  Pallas,  off  Flamborough 
Head,  Landais  told  Captain  Cottineau,  that  if 
the  sail  proved  a  fifty-gun  ship,  they  must  run 
away,  though  he  must  have  been  sure  that 
the  Pallas,  from  her  dull  sailing,  would  be 
captured  ;  that,  though  a  long  way  ahead, 
when  running  down  for  the  Baltic  fleet,  Lan 
dais  lay  out  of  gun-shot  to  windward,  and  al 
lowed  the  Richard  to  pass  into  action  ;  that, 
an  hour  after  the  action  between  the  Richard 
and  the  Serapis  had  commenced,  the  Alliance 
raked  the  Richard  with  cross-bar  and  grape 
shot,  and  killed  a  number  of  her  men ;  that, 
after  an  absence  of  two  hours,  she  returned 
again,  and  fired  a  whole  broadside  into  the 
Richard's  quarter,  being  then  not  more  than 
three  points  abaft  the  Richard's  beam  ;  and 
that,  soon  after,  the  Alliance  crossed  the 


J£T.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  227 

Richard's  bow  and  repeated  a  third  time  her 
fire  upon  the  Richard  ;  that  the  Alliance  nev 
er  passed  on  the  off-side  of  the  Serapis,  and 
that  the  Serapis  could  not  bring  a  single  gun 
to  bear  on  the  Alliance  during  the  engage 
ment  •  and  that  Captain  Landais  had  acknowl 
edged,  since  the  battle,  that  he  would  have 
thought  it  no  harm  if  the  Richard  had  struck, 
for  it  would  have  given  him  an  opportunity  to 
retake  her,  and  to  take  the  Serapis. 

This  fearful  amount  of  testimony,  and  more 
to  the  same  eifect,  was  subscribed  by  no  few 
er  than  nineteen  officers  of  the  different  ships, 
each  testifying  to  the  truth  of  the  particular 
facts  which  had  fallen  under  his  observation, 
and  many  of  them  accompanied  their  affida 
vits  with  detailed  statements  of  what  they 
had  individually  seen.  The  first  lieutenant, 
master,  and  master's  mate  of  the  Alliance  tes 
tified  to  the  conclusive  fact,  that  the  Alliance 
had  never  been  on  any  other  side  of  the  Se- 
rapis  than  that  on  which  the  Richard  lay, 
or  once  in  a  situation  to  be  fired  on  by 
the  Serapis  ;  and  also,  that  the  crew  of  the 
Alliance  repeatedly  told  Captain  Landais  that 


228  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

he  was  firing  on  the  wrong  ship ;  and  some 
of  them  refused  to  fire.  Several  of  the  offi 
cers  expressed  the  firm  conviction  that  Lan- 
dais's  object  must  have  been  to  kill  Jones, 
and  distress  the  Richard,  so  as  to  compel  her 
to  strike,  and  afterwards  recapture  her  and  take 
the  Serapis ;  others  attributed  his  conduct 
either  to  the  same  motive  or  to  cowardice. 
Mr.  Mease  sums  up  his  evidence  by  saying, 
"  The  behaviour  of  our  consorts  upon  this  day 
was  very  mysterious ;  but  that  of  Captain 
Landais  was  of  such  a  cast,  as,  in  my  opinion, 
must  unavoidably  announce  him  to  the  public 
as  a  man  devoid  of  conduct,  a  man  of  infa 
mous  principles,  or  a  rank  coward."  Before 
Landais  disappeared  from  the  scene,  he  con 
trived  to  vary  his  eccentricities,  and  vindicate 
his  claim  to  one  sort  of  courage,  by  a  duel 
with  Captain  Cottineau.  They  had  disagreed 
on  the  cruise,  and  Landais  doubtless  found 
cause  of  offence  in  Cottineau's  testimony 
against  him.  Landais  was  the  challenger. 
They  met  on  the  Helder  island,  with  small 
swords.  Landais  was  a  thorough  master  of 
his  weapon,  and  succeeded  in  badly  wounding 


^Er.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  229 

his  far  worthier  antagonist.  Being  in  the 
mood,  he  now  sent  a  similar  invitation  to  the 
Commodore,  who  replied  by  sending  officers 
to  arrest  him.  Upon  this  Landais  made  his 
escape,  and  proceeded  to  Paris  in  fulfilment  of 
Dr.  Franklin's  order. 

Having  thus,  for  the  present,  got  rid  of  the 
traitorous  coadjutor  who  had  so  long  harassed 
him,  and  so  sensibly  impeded  his  services  in 
the  cause  of  his  country,  the  situation  of 
Jones  was  still  surrounded  with  annoyance 
and  difficulty.  The  combined  French  and 
Spanish  fleets  had  now  returned  to  Brest,  and 
the  British  cruisers  were  at  liberty  to  blockade 
Jones  in  the  Texel,  and  beset  his  track  in 
every  direction,  even  if  he  should  succeed  in 
eluding  the  blockade.  The  Dutch  govern 
ment  was  unceasing  in  its  demands  upon  him 
to  hasten  to  sea,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
who  was  under  the  influence  of  the  British 
minister,  and  who  did  not  share  the  sympathy 
of  the  Dutch  people  on  behalf  of  Jones,  con 
tinued  to  harass  him  with  constant  injunc 
tions  to  depart.  Finding  that  the  officer,  who 
commanded  the  Dutch  ships  in  the  Texel 


230  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

roads,  was  disposed  to  be  too  indulgent,  the 
Prince  of  Orange  superseded  him,  and  appoint 
ed  Vice- Admiral  Reynst  to  take  his  place,  and 
use  every  exertion  in  driving  the  Americans 
to  sea  ;  thirteen  men-of-war,  anchored  in  the 
Texel,  were  placed  under  his  orders  for  this 
purpose. 

To  increase  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
equipment  of  the  ships,  the  weather  proved 
very  bad,  and  repeated  gales  of  wind  prevented 
them  from  communicating  with  the  shore. 
On  the  4th  of  November,  Jones  wrote  to  the 
Due  de  Yauguyon,  French  minister  at  the 
Hague,  who,  being  the  agent  of  the  French 
King,  as  owner  of  all  the  ships  except  the  Al 
liance,  took  an  interest  in,  and  exercised,  in 
connexion  with  Franklin,  a  control  over,  all  his 
proceedings,  that  he  had  been  waiting  a  fort 
night  for  the  water  which  was  to  have  been 
sent  to  him  from  Amsterdam  in  tanks,  and 
that  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  informed, 
that  it  could  only  be  procured  by  his  sending 
up  his  own  casks  ;  the  provisions,  too,  that 
had  been  ordered  on  the  9th  of  October,  had 
not  yet  arrived,  the  spars  sent  from  Amsterdam 


iEx.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  231 

had  been  spoiled  in  the  making,  and  none 
of  the  iron  work  for  the  Serapis  had  been 
yet  completed,  so  that  he  was  now  without 
hinges  to  hang  the  lower-deck  ports.  The 
bread  which  was  sent  twice  a  week  from  Am 
sterdam,  he  said,  was  of  so  bad  a  quality  that 
his  men  were  absolutely  falling  ill  from  the 
use  of  it.  Most  of  his  officers  and  men  had 
lost  their  clothes  and  bedding  in  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard,  and  these  articles  had  not 
yet  been  replaced.  In  addition  to  so  many 
motives  for  discontent  among  the  men,  he  was 
unable  to  assure  them,  that  their  property  in 
the  prizes  would  be  made  good,  should  they 
be  lost  or  captured  in  proceeding  to  France 
before  their  sale.  He  begged  the  minister  to 
authorize  him  to  assure  the  men,  that,  at  all 
hazards,  they  should  not  lose  their  prize  mon 
ey,  and  that  they  should  soon  receive  a  supply 
of  clothes  and  bedding,  or  money  to  purchase 
them,  in  which  case  he  hoped  to  be  able  to 
restore  them  to  good  humor. 

In  the  mean  time,  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  having 
failed  in  his  efforts  to  induce  the  Dutch  gov 
ernment  to  detain  the  Serapis  and  Countess 


232  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

of  Scarborough,  together  with  their  crews,  as 
illegal  captures,  for  want  of  being  made  by 
vessels  having  proper  commissions  granted  by 
a  sovereign  power  •  and  having  equally  failed 
in  his  attempt  to  get  possession  of  the  person 
of  the  pirate  Paul  Jones,  which  last  purpose 
he  is  said  to  have  attempted  to  effect,  after 
failing  with  the  government,  by  instigating 
the  magistrates  of  Amsterdam  and  even  pri 
vate  individuals  to  lay  hands  on  him ;  en 
deavoured  by  every  means,  to  force  the  Amer 
ican  squadron  at  once  to  sea,  that  it  might 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  blockaders.  By  his 
unremitting  exertions,  aided  by  the  influence 
of  the  court,  he  procured  a  resolution  to  be 
passed  by  the  States-General,  on  the  19th  of 
November,  in  which  they  disavowed  any  in 
tention  of  recognising  the  independence  of 
the  American  Colonies,  thereby  disavowing  the 
treaty  which  had  been  signed  by  the  author 
ities  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam  ;  whilst  they 
still  refused  to  pass  upon  the  legality  of  the 
captures  of  the  ships  brought  into  their  port 
by  the  American  squadron,  they  insisted  that 
they  had  proved  their  unwillingness  to  render 


JET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  233 

aid  to  the  captors,  by  ordering  that  they  should 
be  furnished  with  no  munitions  of  war,  nor 
other  articles,  except  such  as  were  indispensa 
ble  to  their  putting  to  sea ;  they  expressed 
their  readiness  even  to  compel  them  to  sail, 
so  soon  as  they  could  keep  the  sea,  and  the 
wind  should  permit,  and,  in  consequence,  di 
rected  the  Admiralty  college  of  Amsterdam 
to  advise  the  American  commander,  that,  as 
the  approaching  season  of  winter  would  make 
his  departure  inconvenient,  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  seize  the  first  opportunity  of 
sailing.  They  stated  that  such  was  their  se 
rious  intention,  and  required  the  Prince  of 
Orange  to  order  the  officer,  commanding  in 
the  Tcxel,  to  permit  no  delay,  and  even  to  use 
force,  if  necessary,  to  compel  the  departure  of 
the  squadron. 

The  French  government,  having  knowl 
edge  of  the  turn  that  the  aifair  was  likely  to 
take,  had  prepared,  in  the  mean  time,  to  save 
the  King's  property  from  almost  certain  cap 
ture,  by  covering  it  with  its  own  recognised 
flag,  to  which  Holland  could  not  refuse  a 
more  prolonged  hospitality.  In  order  to  be 


234  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

beforehand  with  this  measure  when  it  was 
seen  to  be  unavoidable,  the  French  Minister 
of  Marine  had  addressed  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  informing  him  that  "circumstances 
require  that  the  expedition  of  the  squadron, 
under  the  orders  of  Mr.  Jones,  should  termi 
nate  in  the  Texel.  It  seems  indispensable  to 
give  a  new  destination  to  the  different  ships 
which  compose  it.  You  are  at  liberty,  Sir,  to 
dispose  of  the  American  frigate,  the  Alliance, 
according  to  the  views  you  may  entertain  in 
relation  to  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
I  pray  you  only  to  observe  to  Mr.  Jones,  or 
any  other  officer  to  whom  you  may  intrust  the 
command,  that  he  must  not  have  any  subject 
of  the  King  on  board  that  frigate." 

The  French  Ambassador  at  the  Hague  re 
ceived  instructions  with  regard  to  this  meas 
ure  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  immedi 
ately  sent  orders  to  Jones  through  Mr.  Dumas, 
the  American  agent,  to  suspend  the  sailing  of 
the  squadron,  but  to  lose  no  time  in  com 
pleting  the  preparations  for  departure.  It 
does  not  appear  from  this  message  that  Jones 
was  immediately  made  aware  of  the  sudden 


^ET.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  235 

reduction  of  his  command,  which  had  been 
determined  on,  and  of  his  contemplated  re 
moval  from  the  noble  ship  which  his  courage 
had  won.  He  could  not,  however,  have  been 
long  kept  in  ignorance  of  it,  as  Franklin's  or 
der,  dated  the  15th,  to  deliver  up  to  the  Am 
bassador,  all  the  ships  belonging  to  the  French 
King,  together  with  his  prizes  and  the  prison 
ers  taken  in  them,  must  soon  have  arrived. 
In  obedience  to  this  order,  Jones  assumed  the 
command  of  the  Alliance,  whilst  that  of  the 
Serapis  was  conferred  on  Captain  Cottineau 
of  the  Pallas.  The  exchange  was  effected 
silently,  in  the  dead  of  night.  Jones  parted 
with  the  Serapis  with  infinite  reluctance. 
He  considered  her  the  finest  ship  of  her  class 
that  he  had  ever  seen  ;  she  was,  moreover,  a 
proud  trophy  of  his  valor,  and  as  such  he  felt 
that  he  was  abandoning  what  was  eminently 
his  own. 

The  change  to  the  Alliance,  too,  in  the  state 
in  which  she  then  was,  he  represents  as  "most 
disagreeable  and  mortifying."  She  was,  in 
point  of  model  and  construction,  an  admirable 
ship,  being  of  perfect  beauty,  and  unsurpassed 


236  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

for  her  sailing  qualities.  But  the  madness  and 
imbecility  of  Landais,  had  reduced  her  to  a 
miserable  condition.  Whilst  Jones's  exertions 
had  resulted  in  the  complete  equipment  of  the 
Serapis,  he  found  the  Alliance  in  a  wretched 
state  of  disorganization.  Her  sails  and  cables 
had  been  destroyed  by  negligence  ;  the  officers 
and  men  were  lazy,  intemperate,  and  insubor 
dinate,  and  epidemical  diseases,  brought  on 
by  want  of  cleanliness  and  order,  prevailed 
among  the  crew  ;  her  battery  and  small  arms 
were  out  of  order,  and  the  powder  had  be 
come  damaged  by  leakage  or  want  of  turning. 
From  the  stores  and  armament  of  the  Serapis^ 
Jones  was,  however,  able  to  supply  the  princi 
pal  deficiencies,  and  was  soon  in  a  condition 
to  put  to  sea. 

While  these  preparations  were  going  on, 
our  hero  was  not  even  allowed  the  seaman's 
comfort  of  a  growl  at  the  hardship  of  his  case, 
and  the  little  ceremony  with  which  he  had 
been  treated.  It  was  probably  the  policy  of ' 
the  French  court  to  prolong  the  stay  of  the 
squadron  as  much  as  possible  under  the  Amer 
ican  flag,  which  the  ships  must  have  contin- 


JET.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  237 

ued  for  some  time  to  wear  ;  for  we  find  the 
Dutch  Admiral  still  unremitting  in  his  urgent 
demands  for  the  sailing  of  the  squadron,  ac 
companied  by  threats  of  appealing  to  force  to 
compel  it.  On  one  occasion  he  sent  his  flag- 
captain  to  the  ships  of  the  squadron,  to  read 
aloud  a  proclamation  for  them  to  depart,  and 
in  a  few  days  after,  with  a  still  more  urgent 
message.  Jones  now  announced  his  readiness 
to  depart,  whenever  he  should  have  a  leading 
breeze.  On  this  last  occasion,  when  the  flag- 
captain  visited  the  Serapis,  to  go  through  the 
formula  of  his  warning  to  depart,  he  was  in 
formed  that  she  was  no  longer  under  the  com 
mand  of  Paul  Jones  :  but  that  Captain  de  Cot- 
tineau  de  Kloguene  had  taken  possession  of 
her  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France.  The 
French  flag  was  also  displayed  on  board  of 
the  prizes,  and  of  all  the  ships  of  the  squadron 
except  the  Alliance,  which  alone  continued  to 
wear  the  American  flag.  The  Dutch  Admiral 
being  somewhat  astounded  at  this  unexpected 
intelligence,  appealed  to  the  Prince  of  Orange 
for  fresh  instructions,  and  was  directed  by  him 
not  to  proceed  any  farther  with  regard  to 


238  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

those  of  the  vessels  whose  commanders  exhib 
ited  French  commissions,  but  to  carry  out 
his  previous  instructions,  so  far  as  the  Alli 
ance  was  concerned.  He,  at  the  same  time, 
charged  him  not  to  allow  any  of  the  prisoners 
still  in  the  fort  to  be  carried  on  board  the  Al 
liance. 

Notwithstanding  this  order,  Jones  persisted 
in  embarking  all  his  surviving  wounded  pris 
oners  from  the  fort,  and  withdrew  his  garri 
son.  His  motive  for  doing  so,  notwithstand 
ing  the  instructions  of  Franklin,  consequent 
upon  an  agreement  between  him  and  the 
French  Minister,  was  the  convention  that  he 
had  entered  into  with  Captain  Pearson,  for  the 
exchange  of  these  particular  prisoners.  He 
had  effected  the  exchange  of  Captain  Pearson 
for  Captain  Cunningham,  whom  he  now  had 
the  pleasure  to  receive  on  board  his  ship,  arid 
had  still  one  hundred  prisoners,  whom  he 
was  determined  to  keep  to  be  exchanged  for 
the  Americans,  whom  Captain  Pearson  had 
stipulated  to  have  liberated.  The  rest  of  his 
prisoners,  confined  on  board  the  prizes,  he, 
with  great  regret,  relinquished  to  the  French 


jfEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  239 

Ambassador  ;  for  his  humane  desire  to  be  the 
means  of  liberating  Americans  made  him  val 
ue  his  prisoners  more  even  than  his  prizes. 
The  result  was,  that  the  prisoners  delivered  to 
the  French  Ambassador  were  exchanged  at 
the  Texel  for  Frenchmen,  France  agreeing  to 
return  an  ecjual  number  of  Englishmen,  at  a 
more  convenient  point,  to  be  exchanged  for 
Americans. 

The  British  government  did  not  sanction 
the  convention  entered  into  between  Jones 
and  Pearson,  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners; 
because  they  hoped  to  recapture  them  on  the 
passage  of  the  squadron  to  France.  Out  of 
this  danger  of  recapture  grew  the  expediency 
of  transferring  the  prisoners  to  France.  Jones 
does  not  seem,  by  his  correspondence,  to  have 
been  entirely  aware  of  the  object  of  the  trans 
fer,  or  he  would  scarcely  have  insisted  upon 
carrying  away  so  many  as  a  hundred  prisoners, 
including  the  wounded  who  had  been  landed, 
notwithstanding  the  agreement  made  between 
the  French  government  and  Dr.  Franklin,  and 
the  express  orders  of  the  latter.  He  seems, 
on  this  and  other  occasions,  to  have  disliked 


240  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

his  instructions,  and  to  have  obeyed  them  un 
willingly,  from  a  want  of  clearly  appreciating 
the  motives  for  which  they  were  given.  His 
self-will  was,  however,  fortunate  on  this  occa 
sion,  as  France  never  completely  fulfilled  her 
engagement  to  return  an  equal  number  of 
prisoners. 


.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  241 


CHAPTER  X. 

Dissatisfaction  of  Paul  Jones.  —  Contemplates  returning  to  Amer 
ica. —  Is  offered  a  French  Privateer's  Commission.  — Rejects  it 
with  Disdain.  —  Is  ready  for  Sea. —  Refuses  to  hoist  French 
Colors.  —  Receives  a  soothing  Letter  from  the  French  Ambas 
sador.  —  His  Anger  appeased.  —  The  Alliance  sails.  —  Finds  the 
Coast  clear  of  Blockaders.  —  Passes  the  Downs  and  Straits  of 
Dover.  — New  Year's  Day.  — Verses  to  a  Lady.  —  The  Alliance 
sails  badly.  —  Singular  Arrangement  of  Ballast.  —  Goes  into 
Corunna.  —  Mutinous  Disposition  of  the  Crew.  —  Makes  a 
short  Cruise.  —  Enters  L'Orient. —  Jones's  Health  impaired. 

ON  the  1st  of  December,  the  Alliance  was 
ready  for  sea,  whenever  the  wind  should  be 
come  favorable.  It  continued,  however,  ahead, 
with  heavy  gales,  until  nearly  the  close  of  the 
month,  and  Jones,  deprived  of  his  squadron, 
his  prizes,  and  most  of  his  prisoners,  lying  un 
der  the  guns  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  drawn  up  in 
battle  array  to  drive  him  out  of  the  port, 
whilst  twelve  sail  of  British  cruisers  lay  in 
the  offing  ready  to  capture  him,  was  in  a  fit 
mood  to  dwell  on  whatever  was  painful  in 
the  history  of  his  life,  and  to  sum  up  all  the 
disappointments  and  mortifications  of  which 
his  ardent  spirit  had  been  the  victim.  Dis 
gusted  with  the  court  of  France,  wearied  with 

VOL.     I.  16 


242  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

the  way  in  which  it  had  so  long  deluded 
him  with  the  prospect  of  a  formidable  com 
mand,  after  it  had  formally  invited  him  to 
give  up  the  Ranger,  and  seeing  in  its  recent 
withdrawal  of  his  squadron  and  prizes,  less  a 
motive  of  state  policy  than  a  studied  injury 
to  himself,  he  began  to  look  with  satisfaction 
to  the  prospect  of  returning  to  the  United 
States.  In  a  letter,  of  the  5th  of  December, 
to  Robert  Morris,  he  says,  "  I  am  persuaded 
you  will  observe  with  pleasure,  that  my  con 
nexion  with  a  court  is  at  an  end,  and  that 
my  prospect  of  returning  to  America  ap 
proaches.  The  great  seem  to  wish  only  to  be 
concerned  with  tools,  who  dare  not  speak  or 
write  truth.  I  am  not  sorry  that  my  connex 
ion  with  them  is  at  an  end.  In  the  course  of 
that  connexion,  I  ran  ten  chances  of  ruin  and 
dishonor,  for  one  of  reputation ;  and  all  the 
honors  or  profit,  that  France  could  bestow, 
should  not  tempt  me  again  to  undertake  the 
same  service  with  an  armament  equally  ill- 
composed,  and  with  powers  equally  limited." 
With  this  letter  he  forwarded  a  memorial  to 
Congress,  termed  by  him  a  "  refreshing  me- 


JEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  243 

morial,"  recapitulating  the  nature  of  his  ser 
vices  in  the  cause  of  Independence,  and  com 
plaining  of  the  imperfect  manner  in  which 
those  services  had  been  requited.  He  dwelt 
particularly,  and  with  reason,  upon  the  injus 
tice  which  had  been  done  to  him  by  the  line  of 
rank  established  on  the  10th  of  October,  1776. 
The  detention  of  the  Alliance  in  the  Tex- 
el  not  only  afforded  Jones  time  to  brood  over 
his  disgusts,  and  aggravate  them  by  his  mor 
bid  sensibility  to  neglect,  whether  real  or 
imaginary,  but  also  exposed  him  to  an  affront, 
which  he  felt  more  deeply  and  resented  more 
indignantly,  than  any  that  he  had  yet  received. 
This  was  the  offer  from  M.  de  Sartine,  through 
the  Duke  de  la  Vauguyon,  of  a  French  com 
mission  to  command  the  Alliance,  as  a  letter- 
of-marqiie.  In  disdainfully  rejecting  this  in 
sulting  proposition,  Jones  expressed  himself 
in  such  unmeasured  language  as,  doubtless, 
greatly  relieved  him.  The  following  passages 
are  taken  from  his  reply  to  the  Duke  ;  "  Per 
haps  there  are  many  men  in  the  world  who 
would  esteem  as  an  honor  the  commission 
that  I  have  this  day  refused.  My  rank,  from 


244  LIFE  OF  PAUL   JONES.  [1779. 

the  beginning,  knew  no  superior  in  the  marine 
of  America ;  how  then  must  I  be  humbled 
were  I  to  accept  a  letter-of -marque  !  I  should, 
my  lord,  esteem  myself  inexcusable,  were  I  to 
accept  even  a  commission  of  equal  or  superior 
denomination  to  that  I  bear,  unless  I  were 
previously  authorized  by  Congress,  or  some 
other  competent  authority  in  Europe." 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  the  highest  astonishment 
to  me,  that,  after  so  many  compliments  and 
fair  professions,  the  court  should  offer  the 
present  insult  to  my  understanding,  and  sup 
pose  me  capable  of  disgracing  my  present 
commission.  I  confess  that  I  never  merited  all 
the  praise  bestowed  on  my  past  conduct,  but 
I  also  feel  that  I  have  far  less  merited  such  a 
reward.  Where  profession  and  practice  are  so 
opposite,  I  am  no  longer  weak  enough  to  form 
a  wrong  conclusion.  They  may  think  as 
they  please  of  me  ;  for  where  I  cannot  con 
tinue  my  esteem,  praise  or  censure  from  any 
man  is  to  me  a  matter  of  indifference.  I  am 
much  obliged  to  them,  however,  for  having, 
at  last,  fairly  opened  my  eyes,  and  enabled  me 
to  discover  truth  from  falsehood.  While  I  re- 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  245 

mained  eight  months,  seemingly  forgot  by  the 
Court  at  Brest,  many  commissions,  such  as 
that  in  question,  were  offered  to  me  ;  and  I 
believe  when  I  am  in  pursuit  of  plunder,  I  can 
still  obtain  such  an  one  without  application  to 
court." 

Jones  immediately  enclosed  a  copy  of  this 
letter  to  Franklin,  to  whom  he  always  un 
bosomed  himself  in  his  troubles ;  and  wrote  to 
him  in  the  following  strain,  expressing  himself 
in  no  very  elegant  terms  of  the  time-serving, 
promise-making,  and  promise-breaking  M.  de 
Sartine  :  "I  hope  the  within  copy  of  my 
letter  to  the  Duke  de  la  Vauguyon  will  meet 
your  approbation  ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  it 
never  could  be  your  intention  or  wish  that  I 
should  be  made  the  tool  of  any  great  rascal 
whatever  ;  or  that  the  commission  of  America 
should  be  overlaid  by  the  dirty  piece  of  parch 
ment  which  I  have  this  day  rejected !  They 
have  played  upon  my  good  humor  too  long 
already  ;  but  the  spell  is  at  last  dissolved. 
They  would  play  me  off  with  assurances  of 
the  personal  and  particular  esteem  of  the 
King,  to  induce  me  to  do  what  would  render 


246  LIFE  OF   PAUL   JONES.  [1779. 

me  contemptible,  even  in  the  eyes  of  my  own 
servants.  Accustomed  to  speak  untruths  them 
selves,  they  would  also  have  me  to  give  under 
my  hand  that  I  am  a  liar  and  a  scoundrel. 
They  are  mistaken,  and  I  would  tell  them 
what  you  did  to  your  naughty  servant ;  '  We 
have  too  contemptible  an  opinion  of  each  oth 
er's  understanding  to  live  together.' ' 

In  the  same  letter,  Jones  announced  his 
determination  to  depart  with  the  first  wind, 
notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  British 
Squadron  off  the  Texel.  He  expressed  the 
hope  that  he  had  recovered  the  trim  of  the 
Alliance,  which  had  been  entirely  lost  by 
Landais,  and  that  the  length  of  the  nights  at 
that  season,  in  those  high  latitudes,  would  en 
able  him  to  elude  all  pursuit  ;  at  any  rate,  he 
promised  that  the  Alliance  should  not  be  giv 
en  away.  She  was  well  manned,  having  four 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  souls  on  board, 
nearly  all  Americans,  and  he  had  every  confi 
dence,  not  only  that  he  should  keep  her,  but 
that  he  should  make  some  prizes  and  add  to 
the  number  of  his  prisoners,  before  his  arrival 
at  L'Orient.  At  this  time  he  constantly  im- 


LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  247 

pressed  on  his  officers  and  crew,  that  the  Al 
liance  was  a  match  for  any  British  ship,  not 
mounting  more  than  fifty  guns. 

While  still  wind-bound,  the  Dutch  Admiral 
sent  Jones  a  message,  on  the  16th  of  Decem 
ber,  requesting  him  to  come  on  board  of  his 
ship ;  which  he  declined  doing.  On  the  fol 
lowing  day  the  Admiral  wrote  to  him,  asking 
to  be  informed  whether  the  Alliance  was  a 
French  or  an  American  vessel  ;  if  the  first, 
the  Admiral  expected  him  to  show  his  com 
mission,  and  display  the  French  ensign  and 
pendant,  announcing  it  by  firing  a  gun  :  if 
an  American,  that  he  should  lose  no  occasion 
to  depart.  At  the  same  time,  the  Chevalier  de 
Lironcourt,  the  French  Commissary  of  Marine 
at  Amsterdam,  urged  Jones  to  satisfy  all  parties 
by  hoisting  French  colors,  and  assured  him  that 
the  commission  that  had  been  offered  him  was 
only  intended  for  the  exigency,  and  was  not 
offered  him  with  any  idea  of  wounding  him. 
Jones,  however,  still  refused  to  wear  any  other 
than  the  American  flag,  and  sent  word  to  the 
Admiral,  that  under  that  flag  he  should  pro 
ceed  to  sea,  whenever  the  pilot  would  under- 


248  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

take  to  carry  the  ship  out.  At  the  same  time 
he  took  occasion  to  express  to  the  Admiral's 
flag-captain,  his  indignant  sense  of  the  daily 
threats  and  annoyances  of  every  sort  to  which 
he  had  been  subjected,  and  begged  him  to  say 
to  his  chief,  that  though  the  ship  which  bore 
his  flag  was  a  sixty-four,  if  she  and  the  Alli 
ance  were  at  sea  together,  the  Admiral's  in 
sults  and  menaces  would  not  be  for  a  moment 
tolerated.  From  this  time  until  the  Alliance's 
departure,  no  further  messages  were  received 
from  the  Admiral. 

Before  the  wind  became  fair,  Jones  received 
from  the  Duke  de  la  Vauguyon.  in  answer  to 
his  abrupt  epistle,  the  following  mollifying 
communication,  filled  with  abundance  of  cheap 
promises,  which  were  never  performed,  but 
which  had,  at  least,  the  effect  to  send  him 
away  in  a  somewhat  better  humor.  "  I  per 
ceive  with  pain,  my  dear  Commodore,  that 
you  do  not  view  your  situation  in  the  right 
light.  I  can  assure  you  that  the  ministers  of 
the  King  have  no  intention  to  cause  you  the 
least  disagreeable  feelings,  as  the  honorable 
testimonials  of  the  esteem  of  his  majesty, 


jET.  32.]  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  249 

which  I  send  you,  ought  to  convince  you.  I 
hope  you  will  not  doubt  the  sincere  desire  with 
which  you  have  inspired  me  to  procure  you 
every  satisfaction  you  merit.  It  cannot  fail  to 
excite  you  to  give  new  proofs  of  your  zeal  for 
the  common  cause  of  France  and  America.  I 
flatter  myself  that  I  shall  be  able,  before  long, 
to  provide  you  the  means  of  increasing,  still 
more,  the  glory  you  have  already  acquired.  I 
am  already  exerting  all  the  interest  I  promised 
you  ;  and  if  my  views  are  realized,  as  I  have 
every  reason  to  hope,  you  will  have  reason  to 
be  perfectly  content,  but  I  must  beseech  you 
not  to  impede  my  efforts,  by  indulging  in  the 
expression  of  those  strong  sensations  to  which 
you  appear  to  give  way,  and  for  which  there 
is  really  no  foundation.  You  appear  to  pos 
sess  full  confidence  in  the  justice  and  kindness 
of  the  King  ;  rely  upon  the  same  sentiments 
on  the  part  of  his  ministers." 

That  Jones  was  softened  by  this  communi 
cation  is  evident  from  the  first  sentence  of  his 
reply ;  "1  have  not  a  heart  of  stone,  but  am 
duly  sensible  of  the  obligations  conferred  on 
me  by  the  very  kind  and  affectionate  letter 


250  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1779. 

that  you  have  done  me  the  honor  to  write  to 
me."  He,  however,  did  not  retract  his  com 
plaints  of  the  treatment  which  he  had  re 
ceived,  but  repeated  them.  He  mentioned, 
moreover,  that  the  Chevalier  de  Lironcourt 
had  recently  reproached  him  with  the  expense 
that  France  had  been  at  to  give  him  reputa 
tion  in  preference  to  twenty  captains  of  the 
French  navy,  far  better  qualified,  who  had  so 
licited  the  command  which  had  been  confer 
red  upon  him.  The  fact  is  indicative  of  the 
jealousy  which  Jones's  position  had  awakened 
among  the  French  officers,  and  accounts  very 
satisfactorily  for  the  insubordinate  spirit  of  his 
"  colleagues,"  while  it  shows  how  much  bet 
ter  would  have  been  his  chance  for  achieving 
fame,  had  he  sought  it  in  a  single  well-equip 
ped  American  ship. 

At  length,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th 
of  December,  Jones  had  the  satisfaction  of 
announcing  himself  at  sea  in  the  Alliance  ; 
whence  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Dumas,  by  the  pilot, 
as  follows  ;  "  I  am  here,  my  dear  Sir,  with  a 
good  wind  at  east,  and  under  my  best  Amer 
ican  colors ;  so  far  you  have  your  wish. 


^T.  32.]  LIFE   OF   PAUL   JONES.  251 

What  may  be  the  event  of  this  critical  move 
ment,  I  know  not ;  I  am  not,  however,  with 
out  good  hopes.  Through  the  ignorance  or 
drunkenness  of  the  old  pilot,  the  Alliance  last 
night  got  foul  of  a  Dutch  merchant  ship,  and 
I  believe  the  Dutchmen  cut  our  cable.  We 
lost  the  best  bower  anchor,  and  the  ship  was 
brought  up  with  the  sheet  anchor,  so  near  the 
shore,  that  this  morning  I  have  been  obliged  to 
cut  the  cable  in  order  to  get  clear  of  the  shore, 
and  that  I  might  not  lose  this  opportunity  of 
escaping  from  purgatory." 

Shortly  before  the  departure  of  Jones,  there 
had  been  eight  British  ships  cruising  off  the 
southern  entrance  of  the  Texel,  and  four  more 
off  the  northern.  It  appears  from  a  despatch 
of  Jones  to  Congress,  that  no  fewer  than  forty 
sail,  consisting  of  ships  of  the  line  and  frig 
ates,  had  been  stationed  to  intercept  him. 
Two  out  of  the  number,  he  says,  were  wreck 
ed.  The  number  is  doubtless  exaggerated  ; 
though  it  is  known  from  the  English  papers, 
that  sixteen  sail  of  men-of-war  were  already 
in  pursuit  of  him,  previous  to  his  capture  of 
the  Scrapis.  In  one  of  his  interviews  with 


252  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1780. 

the  Dutch  Admiral,  in  which  he  had  been 
urged  to  depart,  Jones  had  told  him,  with 
something  of  the  boasting  which  belonged  to 
his  character,  that  he  was  unable  to  fight  more 
than  three  times  his  force,  though  he  was 
ready  to  depart  whenever  there  was  a  possibil 
ity  of  getting  clear.  Fortunately  for  him,  he 
was  not  called  upon  to  encounter  even  the  mod 
est  allowance  of  enemies,  for  which  he  profess 
ed  his  willingness  to  compound.  The  gales 
which  he  experienced  immediately  before  his 
departure,  and  which  had  even  endangered 
the  Alliance,  at  her  moorings  in  the  Texel 
roads,  probably  drove  the  blockaders  to  a  dis 
tance.  At  any  rate,  he  was  able  to  dash  out 
under  his  "  best  American  colors,"  which  the 
effort  that  had  been  made  to  compel  him  to 
substitute  French  colors  for  them,  made  him 
still  prouder  to  display.  The  Alliance  bore 
away  along  the  coast,  the  moment  she  was 
clear  of  the  mouth  of  the  harbour  ;  and,  keep 
ing  as  close  in  with  the  Flemish  banks,  which 
formed  the  weather  shore,  as  safety  would  al 
low,  she  thus  got  to  windward  of  the  British 
fleet,  stationed  in  the  North  sea  for  her  inter- 


^Er.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  253 

ception.  Favored  by  the  strong  east  wind,  she 
the  next  day  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Do 
ver,  with  her  colors  set,  running  close  to  the 
Goodwin  Sands,  in  full  view  of  the  fleet  an 
chored  in  the  Downs,  only  three  or  four  miles 
to  leeward.  On  the  following  day,  being  the 
29th,  she  ran  past  the  Isle  of  Wight,  near 
enough  to  reconnoitre  the  fleet  at  S pithead, 
still  showing  her  colors.  On  the  1st  of  Janu 
ary,  1780,  she  was  fairly  out  of  the  channel, 
having  passed  in  sight  to  windward  of  several 
British  two-deckers,  which  were  doubtless  on 
the  look  out  for  her,  but  which  she  had  the 
good  fortune  to  evade. 

Having  thus  escaped  from  the  "  purgatory  " 
of  his  tortures  in  the  Texel,  and  the  manifold 
dangers  from  capture  which  seemed  to  him  so 
much  less  formidable,  and  finding  himself 
once  more  on  the  open  ocean  of  adventure, 
with  a  staggering  breeze,  in  the  beautiful  Al 
liance,  Jones  was  in  a  mood  to  welcome  the 
new  year  with  cheerful  exultation,  and  the 
delusive  hope  that  it  would  be  freer  from  an 
noyance  and  perplexity  than  the  last,  though 
it  could  not  be  more  glorious.  His  feelings 


254  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1780. 

broke  forth  into  poetry,  a  mode  of  expression 
in  which,  in  his  moments  of  leisure,  when 
addressing  the  fair,  he  sometimes  indulged. 
While  in  the  Texel,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Du 
mas,  partaking  of  the  enthusiasm  of  her  father 
and  of  society  generally,  had  offered  the  hom 
age  of  her  muse  to  the  victorious  chieftain. 
It  had  occasioned  him  much  self-reproach  that 
his  unremitting  occupations,  in  fitting  out  his 
ships  and  maintaining  his  stand  against  the 
pretensions  of  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  the  threats 
of  the  Dutch  Admiral,  and  the  mortifications 
inflicted  upon  him  by  his  French  friends,  had 
prevented  him  from  responding  in  fit  terms  to 
the  compliment  of  his  gentle  correspondent. 
Remembering  that  it  was  better  for  him  to  ac 
quit  himself,  at  this  late  period,  of  his  obliga 
tion  as  a  man  of  gallantry,  than  to  omit  doing 
so  altogether,  he  now  perpetrated  the  follow 
ing  verses,  which,  though  not  the  best  that  are 
found  among  his  papers,  are  far  from  being 
discreditable  to  a  rude  "  sea  king,"  as  the  lady 
seems,  in  her  verses,  to  have  styled  him. 
They  are  dated  off  Ushant,  on  the  1st  of  Jan 
uary,  1780. 


JEr.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  255 

"  Wore  I,  Paul  Jones,  dear  maid,  'the  king  of  sea,' 
I  find  such  merit  in  thy  virgin  song, 
A  coral  crown  with  bays  I  'd  give  to  thee, 
A  car  which  on  the  waves  should  smoothly  glide  along; 
The  JNereides  all  about  thy  side  should  wait, 
And  gladly  sing  in  triumph  of  thy  state, 
'  Vivat !  vivat !  the  happy  virgin  muse! 
Of  liberty  the  friend,  who  tyrant  power  pursues! ' 

"  Or,  happier  lot!  were  fair  Columbia  free 
From  British  tyranny,  and  youth  still  mine, 
I  'd  tell  a  tender  tale  to  one  like  thee 
With  artless  looks  and  breast  as  pure  as  thine. 
If  she  approved  my  flame,  distrust  apart, 
Like  faithful  turtles,  we  'd  have  but  one  heart; 
Together  then,  we  'd  tune  the  silver  lyre, 
As  love  or  sacred  freedom  should  our  lays  inspire. 

"  But  since,  alas  !  the  rage  of  war  prevails, 
And  cruel  Britons  desolate  our  land, 
For  freedom  still  I  spread  my  willing  sails, 
My  unsheath'd  sword  my  injured  country  shall  command. 
Go  on,  bright  maid  !  the  Muses  all  attend 
Genius  like  thine,  and  wish  to  be  its  friend. 
Trust  me,  although  conveyed  through  this  poor  shift, 
My  new  year's  thoughts  are  grateful  for  thy  gift." 

Shaping  his  course  to  the  southward,  Jones 
cruised  off  Cape  Finisterre,  in  the  hope  of 
making  some  prizes.  .He  found,  however,  that 
there  was  little  hope  of  this,  on  account  of 
the  defective  sailing  of  the  Alliance.  He  had 
been  mistaken  in  supposing  that  he  had  recov- 


256  LIFE  OF  PAUL   JONES.  [1780. 

ered  the  trim  of  this  ship,  as  this  had  been  ef 
fectually  destroyed  by  an  arrangement  of  the 
ballast  which  Landais  had  made  at  L'Ori- 
ent,  on  his  arrival  from  America,  and  which 
Jones  had  not  probably  before  discovered. 
This  arrangement  corresponded  with  the  mad 
imbecility  and  ignorance  which  Landais  be 
trayed  in  all  his  acts.  It  consisted  in  extend 
ing  the  ballast  along  the  ceiling,  from  the 
sternpost  to  the  stem  •  a  considerable  portion 
of  it  being  stowed  in  the  fore  and  after  peaks, 
and  even  laid  on  the  breast-hooks  and  tran 
soms  at  the  very  extremities  of  the  ship  ;  "an 
idea,"  Jones  remarked,  "which  Landais  might, 
without  vanity,  call  his  own."  The  conse 
quence  of  this  arrangement  was,  that  she 
strained  and  pitched  violently,  losing  her  head 
way  at  every  sea. 

There  is  no  axiom  of  seamanship  better 
established  than  that  the  ballast  should  be 
stowed  as  nearly  amidships  as  possible.  It 
then  occupies  the  fullest  part  of  the  ship, 
where  there  is  greatest  buoyancy,  and  its 
weight  is  sustained  by  the  upward  pressure 
of  the  water  which  is  displaced.  The  bow 


J£T.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  257 

and  stern  have  comparatively  little  buoyancy, 
and  are  chiefly  sustained  by  the  strength  of 
the  materials  connecting  them  with  the  rest  of 
the  ship.  Hence  the  removal  of  weight  to  the 
extremities,  besides  unduly  straining  a  ship,  al 
so  increases  her  vibrations  in  a  seaway  ;  there 
by  fatiguing  the  spars,  upon  which  less  sail 
can  be  carried,  and  tending,  moreover,  to  arrest 
and  diminish  her  headway.  This  defect  of 
the  Alliance  could  only  be  remedied  in  port, 
by  breaking  out  the  hold.  Moreover,  her  sail 
ing  was  much  diminished  by  her  canvass  be 
ing  old  and  thin. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Jones  saw  little 
motive  in  prolonging  his  cruise,  and,  being 
threatened  with  a  gale,  he  put  into  Corunna, 
on  the  16th  of  January.  Here  the  Alliance 
was  hospitably  received  by  the  Spanish  au 
thorities.  Having  scrubbed  the  ship  as  low  as 
she  could  be  reached,  by  slightly  careening 
her,  and  procured  an  additional  anchor,  Paul 
Jones  prepared  to  put  to  sea  on  the  28th  of 
January. 

At  this  time,  so  much  discontent  existed 
among  the  crew,  that  they  absolutely  refused. 

VOL.    I.  17 


258  LIFE  OF   PAUL  JONES.  [1780. 

to  weigh  the  anchor,  unless  they  should  first 
receive  a  portion  of  their  pay  or  prize-money. 
The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Poor  Richard 
were  particularly  destitute,  as  most  of  them 
had  lost  every  thing  when  she  went  down. 
At  Amsterdam  Jones  had  received  some  mon 
ey,  from  which  he  had  advanced  five  ducats 
to  each  of  the  officers,  and  one  to  each  of  the 
men.  This  sum  was  so  ridiculous  when  com 
pared  with  their  wants,  that  many  of  them 
instantly  threw  overboard  what  they  received. 
The  credit  of  the  confederation  was  very  bad, 
both  at  home  and  abroad  ;  and  the  sum  which 
Jones  had  received  at  Amsterdam,  besides 
what  had  been  advanced  by  France  for  the 
expense  of  the  ships,  was  probably  a  very 
small  one.  The  officers  and  crew  took  up  the 
opinion,  that,  small  as  it  was,  Jones  had  re 
served  a  large  portion  of  it  for  himself.  Hence, 
and  from  their  destitution  of  clothes,  the  causes 
of  their  discontent. 

Fanning  states,  that  Jones  prevailed  upon 
the  men  to  return  to  their  duty,  and  get  the 
ship  under  weigh,  by  promises  of  running  di 
rectly  for  L'Orient,  where  they  were  to  receive 


M-T.  32.]  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  259 

their  prize-money.  When  the  ship,  however, 
was  fairly  at  sea,  he  summoned  his  officers  in 
to  the  cabin  and  acquainted  them  with  his  wish 
to  cruise  two  or  three  weeks  before  putting  into 
L'Orient  ;  he  touched,  in  an  eloquent  strain, 
upon  all  the  topics  which  were  likely  to  ex 
cite  them,  and  concluded  by  telling  them  that 
if  by  cruising  a  few  days  they  could  carry  in 
a  British  frigate,  of  their  own  or  of  superior 
force,  it  would  add  to  the  lustre  of  their  former 
victories,  and  be  the  means  of  handing  their 
names  down  honorably  to  the  latest  posterity. 
The  officers  withdrew  his  imagination  from 
these  visions  of  glory,  by  representing  the  mu 
tinous  condition  of  the  crew,  and  the  unroman- 
tic  fact,  that  they  had  no  clothes  but  those 
they  stood  in.  At  this,  Jones  lost  all  patience. 
"  I  do  not  want  your  advice,"  he  said,  with  a 
contemptuous  sneer,  "  neither  did  I  send  for 
you  to  comply  with  your  wishes,  but  only  by 
way  of  paying  you  a  compliment,  which  was 
more  than  you  deserve  by  your  opposition. 
Therefore  you  know  my  mind,  go  to  your  du 
ty,  each  one  of  you,  and  let  me  hear  no  more 
grumbling  !  "  He  concluded  his  harangue 


260  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES.  [1780. 

with  an  emphatic  stamp  of  the  foot,  and  so 
broke  up  the  assembly. 

The  Alliance  accordingly  cruised  for  a  few 
days  to  the  westward  of  Cape  Finisterre,  but 
so  much  discord  occurred  among  the  original 
officers  of  the  Alliance  and  those  who  had 
come  from  the  Richard,  who  were  continually 
quarrelling  about  the  relative  merits  and  cour 
age  of  Jones  and  Landais,  and  so  much  dis 
content  existed  among  the  crew,  that  there 
was  little  likelihood  of  their  effecting  any  bril 
liant  service.  Having  fallen  in  with  an  Amer 
ican  ship,  called  the  Livingston,  laden  with  a 
valuable  cargo  of  tobacco,  Jones  convoyed  her 
into  L'Orient,  where  he  arrived  on  the  10th  of 
February.  His  health  had  suffered  severely 
from  exposure  to  winter  gales  and  constant 
watching  ;  and  his  eyes  were  almost  blind 
with  inflammation.  He,  therefore,  went  im 
mediately  on  shore  in  search  of  necessary 
repose. 


END  OF  VOL.   I. 


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